Baikal Electronics, a Russian processor developer, has managed to produce and sell 85,000 units since its founding in 2012 until the end of 2024, according to a report by CNews.
The majority of these units are Baikal-T processors, designed for embedded applications. This growth is remarkable considering that in 2019, the company delivered only 17,000 processors, operating at that time with a single office and 81 employees.
Currently, it has four offices and a team that has grown to 200 employees, despite having declared bankruptcy in 2023.
A company surrounded by international sanctions and the Russian war
The geopolitical context has posed serious challenges for Baikal. Since the imposition of sanctions by Taiwan, the United States, and Europe in 2022, the company has seen its access to modern technologies restricted.
These controls have limited Baikal to the acquisition of low-performance 32-bit CPUs, which has considerably affected its production. According to CEO Andrey Evdokimov, 150,000 processors were confiscated in Taiwan, and 15,000 orders for other products were canceled.
Despite these obstacles, Baikal Electronics is starting the production of a new microcontroller and plans to manufacture Baikal-L processors for mobile devices and Baikal-S2 for data centers, in collaboration with SMIC, a Chinese company.
Although the technical details have not been revealed, the shift towards new technologies is an effort to respond to the growing demand for PCs within the Russian market.
As the world of technology continues to advance by leaps and bounds, Baikal finds itself at a complicated crossroads, struggling not only for innovation but also for survival in a hostile global environment. Given the current context, more developments in this area can be expected in the near future.