November 3, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — Renesas Electronics has introduced two new RA8 series microcontrollers, the RA8M2 and RA8D2, both based on a 1GHz Arm Cortex-M85 core, with an optional 250 MHz Cortex-M33 core for efficient task segregation. The MCUs deliver up to 7,300 Coremarks of performance, setting a new benchmark for high-performance embedded microcontrollers.

The RA8 devices use a 22nm ultra-low-leakage process and integrate embedded MRAM, offering high endurance, fast write speeds, and reduced leakage compared with traditional Flash memory. Optional SIP packages with 4MB or 8MB external Flash are available for more demanding applications.

The RA8D2 is tailored for graphics and HMI tasks, featuring a high-resolution LCD controller, 2D drawing engine, and multiple camera interfaces for vision AI and interactive display applications. Both MCUs include Gigabit Ethernet and a dual-port TSN switch to support industrial networking.

Renesas noted that the new RA8 series balances high computational performance with low power consumption, supporting a wide range of industrial, IoT, and AI edge use cases. The Flexible Software Package (FSP) enables engineers to accelerate application development and integrate legacy code efficiently.

The RA8M2 and RA8D2 Group MCUs are available now. For more information, please visit www.renesas.com/RA8M2 and www.renesas.com/RA8D2.