Startup Bolt Graphics announced its Zeus line of graphics cards based on the open-source RISC-V architecture in March of this year. Now, with the hardware launch in 2026 approaching, they made a surprise appearance at Ubuntu Summit on October 25. Here, they presented a software stack that is said to enable 13 times faster performance than the Nvidia RTX 5090.
Antonio Salvemini, Director of Graphics Engineering at Bolt Graphics, presented a talk at the event titled \u201cBeyond the Silicon: Redefining GPU Innovation Through Software and Methodology.\u201d He highlighted that Zeus is focused on path tracing, an advanced rendering technique used in the film and animation industries.
Unlike ray tracing, where light rays bounce only once, path tracing randomly bounces in multiple directions, allowing for a more realistic simulation of light. Zeus uses the open-source Intel Open Image Denoise library for noise removal and the MaterialX standard for shading and textures.
The Zeus graphics cards are based on the RISC-V RVA23 profile multi-chip design and will be among the first consumer chips on this platform. Bolt is moving away from the AI and gaming market and targeting professional users in the film industry such as Disney, Lucasfilm, and DreamWorks.
If Zeus is successful, it could have a significant impact on the future of computer graphics and establish RISC-V as a serious alternative in the world of high-performance hardware.<\/p>\n