RISC-V is giving the British brainchild Arm Holdings a run for its money, popping up in everything from mobiles to AI processors.

The bigwigs at Alibaba and other Chinese tech giants are all over it, turning it into the latest tussle in the tech tug-of-war with Uncle Sam.

In November, a group of US politicians urged the Biden team to stop China from getting too big for its boots with this RISC-V malarkey, fearing it might nick the Yanks' lunch money in national and economic security.

Just last week, the Commerce Department piped up, saying they're on the case, checking out the risks and pondering if they need to step in without stepping on the toes of American firms in the RISC-V gang.

They're treading on eggshells, mind, after a problem with 5G tech transfer rules that threw a spanner in the works for US companies mingling in international tech circles with the Chinese.