Canonical
on 10 March 2026
Certified Ubuntu 24.04 LTS images now available
Canonical is pleased to announce the general availability (GA) of certified Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu Core 24 images for the Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC 64-bit microprocessors (MPUs) platforms. With a production-ready Ubuntu version, users can benefit from enterprise-grade security, long-term support, and full enablement of the rich multimedia capabilities of the Renesas RZ/G series.
Alongside the GA release for RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC, Canonical is also introducing an Ubuntu image for the Renesas RZ/V2L platform with an AI snap tutorial to deploy Renesas AI applications on Ubuntu. This image introduces support for Renesas DRP-AI accelerator, enabling high-performance, low-power AI inference at the edge.
Renesas’ RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC groups are general-purpose Arm CortexA55–based MPUs that boost AI performance and extend scalability across entry level to high end designs. They integrate camera inputs, 3D graphics, and video codecs for cost efficient HMI, multimedia and AI image processing applications. The RZ/V2L is optimized for vision AI applications, with the DRP-AI accelerator enabling efficient, real-time AI inference and image processing without an external ISP.
Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Core: Certified features enablement
The GA Ubuntu 24.04 LTS image is fully certified by Canonical to support the complete feature set of the Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC MPUs. This ensures that customers can rely on consistent functionality, performance and stability across production deployments. It also removes the complexity of board bring-up and driver integration, allowing teams to focus on application development rather than platform maintenance.
The certified Ubuntu image is available in both Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Core variants, allowing customers to select the operating system that best aligns with their product architecture and security requirements. Both variants support Renesas-specific features, including Arm Mali GPU acceleration, Renesas multimedia codec, industrial I/O, and MIPI Camera integration.
Ubuntu Server
Ubuntu Server provides a familiar, flexible Linux environment that is widely adopted across enterprise and embedded deployments. It is the classic, full Ubuntu distribution: headless by default for production, with the flexibility to integrate a graphics stack and UI when required. On Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC, Ubuntu Server enables rapid application development, straightforward integration with existing Linux workloads, and access to the full Ubuntu ecosystem of packages and tools.
Ubuntu Core: Security by design
For devices that demand a higher security posture and transactional updates, Ubuntu Core offers a purpose-built, lightweight, immutable operating system optimized for embedded and IoT deployments. On Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC, Ubuntu Core enables additional OS features such as:
- Full Disk Encryption (FDE) to protect data at rest
- Secure Boot to ensure only trusted software is executed on the device
- Over-the-air updates with automatic rollback
- Application confinement using snap-based packaging
These capabilities make Ubuntu Core particularly well suited for industrial, smart infrastructure, and mission-critical edge systems.
Meet industrial compliance with Ubuntu Pro
The certified Ubuntu 24.04 LTS image for Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC is backed by Canonical’s long-term support offering. With an Ubuntu Pro subscription and optional support from Canonical, customers can gain added benefits, including:
- Up to 15 years of security maintenance
- Regular CVE fixes for the OS, kernel, and key user-space components
- 24/7 enterprise-grade support from Canonical
Long-term stability is critical for embedded products with extended lifecycles, such as industrial controllers, gateways, and smart edge devices. The need to meet requirements of regulations like the EU Cyber Resilience Act means many organizations are increasingly looking for solutions that prioritize long-term security maintenance and offer support and stability.
Deploying Renesas AI applications on Ubuntu with DRP-AI support
Canonical released an early access Ubuntu 24.04 LTS image for the Renesas RZ/V2L to accelerate AI development and deployment on Ubuntu. This image enables Renesas DRP-AI, a low-power hardware accelerator built for edge Vision AI. DRP-AI offloads vision pre/post-processing and neural network inference from the CPU/GPU to dedicated hardware, delivering predictable real-time performance and higher throughput per watt.
The early access image is accompanied by a hands-on AI snap tutorial that demonstrates how to deploy Renesas AI applications on Ubuntu using the DRP-AI software stack. This lowers friction for teams migrating existing Renesas AI workloads to Ubuntu while preserving performance characteristics and hardware acceleration paths.
“By collaborating with Canonical to bring certified Ubuntu to the RZ/G2L and early access Ubuntu with DRP‑AI on RZ/V2L, we are lowering the barrier to production for edge AI,” said Mohammed Dogar, Vice President, Embedded Processing Product Group at Renesas. “Developers can now take Renesas AI applications from prototype to deployment on a secure, long‑term supported Ubuntu platform while fully leveraging DRP‑AI acceleration.”
“By collaborating with Renesas, we are jointly ensuring that Ubuntu is ready for production across Renesas RZ platforms,” said Cindy Goldberg, VP of Cloud and Silicon Partnerships at Canonical. “Device manufacturers now have a secure, certified platform to deploy with confidence and scale AI solutions from prototype to production.”
Deploying Renesas AI applications and reference use cases on Ubuntu streamlines the path from prototype to production. Product teams can evaluate AI workloads for RZ/V2L on Ubuntu ahead of full certification and gain immediate access to Ubuntu’s developer ecosystem. By reusing Renesas SDK examples within standard Ubuntu packaging and deployment pipelines, they can enjoy faster time to market.
This early access offering underscores Canonical’s commitment to supporting Renesas AI platforms and enabling scalable, secure AI deployments on Ubuntu.
Get started
Download certified Ubuntu images for Renesas RZ/G2L and RZ/G2LC and begin building production-ready solutions with confidence, backed by Canonical’s security, certification, and long-term support. Ubuntu Desktop image is available for RZ/G2L for evaluation purposes.
Access RZ/V2L Early access image and AI Snap Tutorial and start evaluating AI workloads on Ubuntu using RZ/V2L DRP-AI accelerator.
For any questions about the platform or further information about Canonical’s certification program, contact us.
