Ubuntu 23.04 Now Supports This ‘Powerful’ RISC-V Computer

Ubuntu 23.04 is now officially available for StarFive’s VisionFive 2, a powerful RISC-V single-board computer.

Canonical worked with StarFive’s engineering team to create an optimised version of the latest Ubuntu release for use on the VisionFive 2.

This single-board computer (SBC) boasts greater performance than the company’s first-generation model (which Ubuntu announced support for last year) thanks, in part, to the inclusion of an integrated GPU – which makes it the first RISC-V board in the world to offer one.

RISC-V is a burgeoning and exciting area of open computing. StarFive’s boards provide developers interested in furthering that work, be it on software or hardware engineering sides, with an accessible and affordable way to do so.

And while software support for RISC-V boards like the VisionFive 2 is formative it is evolving fast, so providing developers with the latest Ubuntu release gives them a solid platform and access to some of the latest development tools — a big boon, clearly.

“VisionFive 2 is the first RISC-V single-board computer with an integrated GPU and an exciting step forward for the whole RISC-V ecosystem,” Frank Zhao, Software Vice President of StarFive is quoted as saying.

“We are excited to have Ubuntu, the most popular Linux operating system, successfully running on VisionFive 2, thanks to our collaboration with Canonical. The operating system and open source software is key to high performance RISC-V applications. We are dedicated to supporting RISC-V ecosystem development, and StarFive will make further contributions to the open-source world with Canonical.”

Gordan Markuš, the Silicon Alliances Director at Canonical, is just as ebullient, noting that the joint effort provides users “…with a seamless development experience, allowing them to leverage the best of open source software and RISC-V through Ubuntu and VisionFive 2.”

If you’re lucky enough to have StarFive’s VisionFive 2 you can download Ubuntu 23.04 from the Ubuntu website’s RISC-V page, which also provides links to further information should you need it.

In all, exciting stuff!