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It might make sense given pi2040’s PIO capabilities. Additionally, the RPi5’s io chip, RP1, might have some similar tricks inside.

The Raspberry Pi Pico has a fascinating peripheral known as the “Programmable Input/Output” (PIO). This device allows us to write very simple assembly programs to emulate a number of different peripherals and communication protocols.

https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/raspberry-pi-pico-...

RP1 is our I/O controller for Raspberry Pi 5, designed by the same team at Raspberry Pi that delivered the RP2040 microcontroller, and implemented, like RP2040, on TSMC’s mature 40LP process.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/introducing-raspberry-pi-5/