Raptor Computing working on new POWER systems using OpenPOWER CPU from Solid Silicon

Well, this is a pleasant surprise and a massive coincidence.

Besides that BMC-focused press release, Raptor Computing Systems tweeted out that they are working on next generation of high performance, fully owner controlled systems! Built using the open POWER ISA 3.1, these new machines will be direct upgrades for existing POWER9 systems." Power ISA 3.1 aligns with new functionality IBM introduced in Power10.

This is fantastic news, and it seems they're sidestepping the IBM POWER10 binary blobs issue by relying on a different chip vendor altogether, Solid Silicon, who announced an OpenPOWER CPU that will be used in Raptor's upcoming systems, the S1. It seems unlikely to me that the S1 will be an entirely new, unique processor, so perhaps it's a slightly modified IBM POWER10 design without the binary blobs.

I'm incredibly excited about this news, and can't wait to hear what they're planning.