Start9 unveils RISC-V router with open boot stack and per-device security profiles

Start9 is taking pre-orders for a RISC-V-based home router built around the SpacemiT K1 8-core chip, 4GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, and a fully open boot stack (OpenSBI, U-Boot) running StartWRT, a fork of OpenWrt with a redesigned GUI. The board schematics, ISA, kernel, and OS are open; the Wi-Fi radio firmware and two early-boot binaries remain closed, with open replacements in progress. Units are slated to ship by September 2026, and pre-order funds are non-refundable development capital.

The headline software feature is per-device Security Profiles that govern visibility on the LAN, DNS, internet access (allow/deny/whitelist/blacklist), VPN routing, and Wi-Fi scheduling. Profile assignment is driven by how a device joins: Ethernet port, Wi-Fi password (via Identity PSK, replacing the usual guest-network model), or inbound VPN server. Outbound VPN clients can be chained across providers like Mullvad and Proton so no single provider sees the full traffic picture.

The pitch targets self-hosters — particularly existing StartOS users, who get automated port forwarding — while trying to stay approachable for non-technical buyers via sane defaults and an in-UI help mode. It is one of the few consumer routers built on RISC-V with published schematics, positioning it as a hardware-transparency play in a category dominated by proprietary stacks.