[jmole]

I've had the same frustration with rockchip, but if you search the lkml you'll find that they are indeed trying their best: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/?q=rock-chips.com

the biggest issue is that actually contributing to upstream is an *incredibly* difficult and painful process.

[greatgib]

Maybe also because they don't release proper specs?

[jmole]

Silicon is a dog eat dog game. You release too much and you get sued for patent infringement by NPEs or competitors copy your designs and run with them. There is basically no upside unless you are running a charity like Raspberry Pi.

Margins are incredibly thin unless you're on the bleeding edge. It's not an easy business. You need to move millions and millions of chips to make a profit, and that means your FAEs are working directly with companies who are actually paying you for chips instead of trying to write perfect documentation for the open source community.