US blocks China from getting AI chips, Huawei says it has found a way to compete
Huawei says it has found a new way to build advanced chips despite US restrictions on China's access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology. The company claims its approach could rival leading chipmakers by 2031, offering an option to develop powerful AI and smartphone processors.
The US is doing its best to stop China from winning the AI race. To that end, Washington has imposed a series of sanctions and restrictions, including limiting China's access to advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment from companies like Nvidia. However, Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies now claims it has developed a workaround that could allow it to build advanced chips comparable to the world's leading products by 2031, despite those restrictions.
Speaking at an event in Shanghai on Monday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Huawei outlined a new approach to chip design that it says would enable it to develop high-end processors without relying on the specialised chipmaking equipment used by rivals such as Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics.
The company claims that their approach could eventually deliver transistor density levels comparable to chips made using a 1.4-nanometre manufacturing process. Transistor density refers to the number of tiny switches packed onto a chip, a factor that generally influences computing performance and energy efficiency.
Notably, the 1.4nm node is considered the next major milestone in semiconductor manufacturing, with leading chipmakers planning to mass-produce such chips in the coming years using advanced lithography systems made by Dutch company ASML.
Huawei, however, does not have access to those machines. The US government has blocked exports of advanced semiconductor equipment to China, preventing companies such as Huawei from using the latest chipmaking tools.
Instead of relying solely on shrinking chip components, Huawei said it is focusing on improving computing efficiency through a different architecture. The company said it is stacking multiple layers of circuits within a single chip and reducing the time it takes for data to travel between them. Huawei refers to this approach as the "Tau Scaling Law".
According to materials presented at the event, the company has already applied the method across 381 chip models over the past six years.
"Our solution is feasible and affordable," said He Tingbo, president of Huawei's semiconductor division.
Meanwhile, Huawei also revealed that the next generation of its Kirin smartphone processors, expected to launch later this year, will be the first to use what it calls a "LogicFolding" architecture. The design is intended to improve chip performance by shortening internal wiring paths and reducing communication delays between different parts of the processor.
The company added that it is using the same approach in the development of artificial intelligence chips, although it did not provide independent benchmarks or performance evaluations to support its claims.
The announcement comes after years of tightening US restrictions on Huawei and China's semiconductor industry. Huawei was placed on a US trade blacklist in 2019, limiting its access to American technology. Broader controls introduced in 2022 further restricted China's access to advanced semiconductor equipment and AI chips.
Those measures have forced Chinese technology firms to seek alternative paths to developing cutting-edge processors. Meanwhile, Huawei has emerged as a key player in Beijing's push for technological self-sufficiency and efforts to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
The US is doing its best to stop China from winning the AI race. To that end, Washington has imposed a series of sanctions and restrictions, including limiting China's access to advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment from companies like Nvidia. However, Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies now claims it has developed a workaround that could allow it to build advanced chips comparable to the world's leading products by 2031, despite those restrictions.
Speaking at an event in Shanghai on Monday, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Huawei outlined a new approach to chip design that it says would enable it to develop high-end processors without relying on the specialised chipmaking equipment used by rivals such as Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics.
The company claims that their approach could eventually deliver transistor density levels comparable to chips made using a 1.4-nanometre manufacturing process. Transistor density refers to the number of tiny switches packed onto a chip, a factor that generally influences computing performance and energy efficiency.
Notably, the 1.4nm node is considered the next major milestone in semiconductor manufacturing, with leading chipmakers planning to mass-produce such chips in the coming years using advanced lithography systems made by Dutch company ASML.
Huawei, however, does not have access to those machines. The US government has blocked exports of advanced semiconductor equipment to China, preventing companies such as Huawei from using the latest chipmaking tools.
Instead of relying solely on shrinking chip components, Huawei said it is focusing on improving computing efficiency through a different architecture. The company said it is stacking multiple layers of circuits within a single chip and reducing the time it takes for data to travel between them. Huawei refers to this approach as the "Tau Scaling Law".
According to materials presented at the event, the company has already applied the method across 381 chip models over the past six years.
"Our solution is feasible and affordable," said He Tingbo, president of Huawei's semiconductor division.
Meanwhile, Huawei also revealed that the next generation of its Kirin smartphone processors, expected to launch later this year, will be the first to use what it calls a "LogicFolding" architecture. The design is intended to improve chip performance by shortening internal wiring paths and reducing communication delays between different parts of the processor.
The company added that it is using the same approach in the development of artificial intelligence chips, although it did not provide independent benchmarks or performance evaluations to support its claims.
The announcement comes after years of tightening US restrictions on Huawei and China's semiconductor industry. Huawei was placed on a US trade blacklist in 2019, limiting its access to American technology. Broader controls introduced in 2022 further restricted China's access to advanced semiconductor equipment and AI chips.
Those measures have forced Chinese technology firms to seek alternative paths to developing cutting-edge processors. Meanwhile, Huawei has emerged as a key player in Beijing's push for technological self-sufficiency and efforts to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
