Ubuntu 25.10 Raises the Bar for RISC-V Hardware

Canonical announced that Ubuntu 25.10 will raise its baseline RISC-V Application profile (RVA) from RVA20 to RVA23. This means most existing RISC-V devices won't be able to run Ubuntu 25.10, as RVA23 mandates Vector and Hypervisor extensions for compute-intensive workloads like AI/ML and cryptography. While the short-term impact is limited, this move positions Ubuntu to better leverage more powerful RISC-V hardware in the future, solidifying its position on the platform.