Huawei Aims to Develop 1.4nm Chips by 2031 Amid China's Rush to Close Semiconductor Gap with Taiwan's TSMC

Huawei Closes in on Industry Leader TSMC with Breakthrough in Advanced Semiconductors

Huawei Technologies Co. has made significant progress in bridging the gap with industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), potentially achieving a major breakthrough in making advanced semiconductors without cutting-edge equipment. The current five-year gap between what TSMC is capable of and what Huawei, in partnership with Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., can produce is expected to be significantly reduced.

According to Huawei's semiconductor chief, He Tingbo, the company aims to start mass-producing 1.4-nanometer chips by 2031 using its proprietary "LogicFolding" technology. Notably, TSMC has previously announced plans to begin mass production of the same product in 2028. If Huawei can successfully achieve large-scale production of 1.4nm semiconductors, it would defy the industry consensus that Dutch supplier ASML Holding NV's state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet lithography machines are necessary to mass-produce chips that are 5nm or more advanced.

The nanometer measure is used to indicate the size of transistors on a chip, with smaller transistors enabling more powerful chips. ASML's EUV machines are considered essential in shrinking transistors, but Huawei's breakthrough could potentially challenge this conventional wisdom. The development of more advanced semiconductors is crucial for powering sophisticated AI technologies.

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Huawei's progress follows a years-long US-led campaign to tighten exports of advanced chips and gear, which has curbed China's AI progress. In response, Beijing has been driving the country's semiconductor self-sufficiency, with Huawei at the forefront. In September, Huawei announced a three-year roadmap to roll out a series of AI chips to fill the vacuum left by Nvidia Corp., whose most advanced semiconductors are banned for China.