AEGIS – Open ARMv9 Dev Kit Platform (Socketed CPU, Modular Boards, AI-Ready) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 02:30:07 am
content: Hey all —I’m developing an open hardware platform called AEGIS, which includes:* Socketed ARMv9 CPUs (8c–128c)* An open LGA socket standard (LGA-Z1)* Modular dev boards with DDR5, PCIe Gen4, NVMe* AI hardware (Nova TPU) and future edge node integrationThe goal is to create a fully documented, modular ARM platform for developers, researchers, and secure embedded systems — with public specs and compatibility across future generations.We've filed provisional patents and are now preparing board manufacturing and open socket documentation.https://github.com/[your-username]/aegis-libre-devkitAll CPU specs, open socket documentation (LGA-Z1), and board schematics will live here.Contact: aegirontechnologies@gmail.comI'd love your thoughts on layout standards, LGA retention ideas, and anything you’d look for in an open ARM board as a developer or builder.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 02:57:58 am
content: Nice. I guess that will take quite some time before they are available.I've been wanting to pick up an Orion O6, but they're constantly out of stock on Aliexpress and I refuse to preorder on Arace and pay their $100 Fedex shipping price.It's taken a very long time to have any SBC with SVE available.Since you're developing your own SoCs, how about making exactly the same SoC (peripherals, DDR, PCIe etc) but with the cores substituted with SiFive P870 or Tenstorrent Ascalon?

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 04:35:52 am
content: it will take time, I am currently looking for all the help I can get. it wont be a SoC. its going to actually be a separate chip and motherboard, ddr5, PCIe.CPU 12-core ARMv9-A (AEGIS Apollo)Form Factor Micro-ATXMemory 2x DDR5 DIMM (up to 64GB ECC)Storage 1x M.2 NVMe (bootable), 2x SATA IIINetworking 2x 5GbE Ethernet (PXE-enabled)USB 2x USB 3.2, 1x USB-C, 2x USB 2.0Expansion 1x PCIe Gen 4 x4Debug UART, JTAG, HDMI consoleGPIO Headers 2x 40-pin (3.3V I/O, SPI, I²C, GPIO)Power ATX or 12V DC-in

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 05:03:21 am
content: Then whose SoC are you using?

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 01:48:34 pm
content: ive designed my own cpu. you would be able to use a 8core or 12core or 16core cpu based on your budget.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 02:10:22 pm
content: Quote from: Aegiron on May 17, 2025, 01:48:34 pmSo you're making an SoC? Or just a basic CPU with some kid of external "north bridge" and "south bridge" as Intel used to call them?

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 02:26:01 pm
content: nope no SoC, full functioning system with a north bridge and a south bridge. Something that hasnt been done before, the way I want to do it.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 02:49:43 pm
content: Have you secured a license from Arm?

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 03:41:28 pm
content: Dont need one immediately right now. still in development phase.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 09:48:39 pm
content: That is a pretty major thing! I've heard in the industry that it often takes a team of lawyers a year and a half or two years to successfully negotiate a license with Arm -- and that's even the case with microcontroller cores let alone the latest high performance ARMv9 cores. And salesmen will simply refuse to talk to people who don't pass their "qualified prospect" filter. Arm China is reportedly a heck of a lot easier to work with than head office so we've recently been seeing A53s pop up in all kinds of chips e.g. SG2000.

author: geerlingguy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 21, 2025, 02:51:19 pm
content: From my experience with others, fabbing your own Arm silicon would be at minimum a multi-year process, and cost in the millions... building a socketed custom CPU would be more.I'd love to see it, but seeing the struggles every Arm SoC vendor has had with the bigger cores and integration (even with teams of 50+), it seems like it would be out of the realm of a small startup without a license already.But it'd be amazing to see, even if it was just using ancient cores on an old process, because 'socketed' and 'Arm' are only available in high-high end stuff.

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 21, 2025, 07:15:23 pm
content: Totally valid points — and I appreciate the honesty. You’re right that traditionally, fabbing a full custom ARM SoC with big cores is a multi-million-dollar process, and that’s assuming a team, IP licenses, verification infrastructure, and a lot of runway.Where I’m doing something different is approaching this more like an open hardware platform, not a full silicon fab from scratch (yet). The roadmap is:Starting with LGA socket standardization (LGA-Z1) to make upgradeable ARM boards possibleLeveraging existing core IP and design tools, and working toward packaging prototypes firstUsing modular dev boards and trusted small-volume packaging partners (like QP Technologies, whom I’m now working with)Planning for public documentation + open dev kits, not proprietary lock-inI’m not trying to outpace Apple or Ampere — just giving developers and infrastructure builders a way to work with ARMv9 CPUs outside of BGA-soldered systems or cloud instances.Even if the early versions run on a mature node or modest core count, the goal is clear: make socketed, modular, open ARM a real option.Thanks for chiming in — feedback like this helps push it forward.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2025, 11:39:28 pm
content: Quote from: Aegiron on May 21, 2025, 07:15:23 pmGrok, is that you?QuoteWord salad.QuoteSeriously ... Grok?It's hard enough to convince the world that serious companies with experienced people with track records and funding such as Tenstorrent and Ventana and Rivos can succeed.This proposal is looking like Libre-SOC levels of dreaming.

author: Aegiron
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 03, 2025, 03:13:12 am
content: Most innovations started with a dream. I am not tenstorrent, ventana, nor rivos. I have something that I want to bring to the world that is useful. I want to thank you for naming my next innovation.