Huawei has made a bold proclamation that a new technological breakthrough will allow it to manufacture advanced semiconductor chips capable of rivalling the world’s best. Speaking at a semiconductor symposium in Shanghai, the Chinese tech giant announced plans to produce chips with a transistor density that matches the upcoming 1.4-nanometer (nm) nodes from industry leaders like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) and Samsung.
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If realized, this advancement would mark a historic milestone for Huawei. The company has been severely hindered by a relentless wave of US trade sanctions dating back to 2019, which cut off its access to the cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment required by its competitors to achieve sub-2nm scales. By comparison, TSMC recently revealed that its own 1.4nm process is on track to enter commercial production by 2028.
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While Huawei’s timeline would place it roughly five years behind TSMC’s cutting-edge rollout, the Chinese firm aims to disrupt the market on price. He Tingbo, head of Huawei’s chip design division, stated that their proprietary process is both “feasible and affordable,” according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Currently, China’s leading foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), maxes out at a 7nm process—the technology powering Huawei’s Mate 60 smartphone lineup. Achieving 1.4nm density would represent a massive leap forward for domestic Chinese silicon.
