Huawei Reportedly Says It Has Developed Domestic Chip Design Tools Despite U.S. Sanctions
- Huawei's rotating chairman Eric Xu said the company and other domestic companies have jointly developed the electronic chip design tools needed to produce 14-nanometer and larger semiconductors.
- If Xu's claims are true, Huawei will take steps to reduce its reliance on American semiconductor technology.
- In 2020, Washington barred Huawei from US chip-making equipment through sanctions, crippling the Chinese tech giant's smartphone business.
© Provided by CNBC Image of a woman holding a mobile phone in front of the Huawei logo displayed on a computer screenHuawei has reportedly developed its own chip design tool, a move that defies US sanctions and aims to make the Chinese tech giant more self-sufficient in semiconductors.
Eric Xu, Huawei's rotating chief executive, said the company and other domestic companies have jointly developed the electronic chip design tools needed to make 14-nanometer and larger semiconductors, according to a speech attended by the financial publication. Chinese ampersand Yicai.
Xu said the tool will be validated this year so it can be published.
Huawei was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
If Xu's claims are true, Huawei will take steps to reduce its reliance on American semiconductor technology. American companies dominate the chip design tools market with companies like Synopsis and Cadence Design Systems.
But in 2020, Washington barred Huawei from US chip-making equipment through sanctions, crippling the Chinese tech giant's smartphone business.
Xu's speech claims that the design tools for chips are 14 nanometers and above. The nanometer rating refers to the size of each individual transistor on a chip. The smaller the transistor, the more it will fit in a single semiconductor. In general, scaling to nanometer size can lead to more powerful and efficient chips.
However, the 14-nanometer chip is several generations behind what is currently featured in the latest smartphone technology. For example, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max uses a 5-nanometer chip. However, the 14-nanometer chip can also be used in the company's other products.
Prannoy Kotasthane, chair of the high-tech geopolitics program at the Taxila Institution, told CNBC that he will wait for more details before we know how effective Huawei's design tool is.
Kotasthanay explains that a contract chip maker, also known as a foundry, works with a semiconductor design company to create a set of files called a process design kit. This PDK "models the physical and electrical properties" of the basic components of a chip. Both engineering firms and manufacturers must follow manufacturing optimization processes to ensure maximum semiconductor yield. If this process doesn't happen, "the chip design will fail when it switches to silicon," says Kotasthanay.
“There is still not enough evidence that Chinese EDA (Electronic Design Automation) companies have broken this barrier,” Kotasthanay said.
