Story perspectives

Huawei Targets 1.4nm Chips by 2031, Challenges TSMC

5/25/2026

Summary

Huawei Starts 1.4nm

Huawei will start 1.4-nm chip production by 2031 using LogicFolding, narrowing its gap with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which targets 2028 production.
He Tingbo said LogicFolding will power Kirin mobile chips launching this fall, and Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law boosts speed.
Patents aim to raise transistor density without EUV tools, prompting SMIC shares to rise 19% in Shanghai and leading Huawei to plan AI chips to replace Nvidia products.

Summary

Ding unveils

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang visited Huawei’s Shanghai campus and unveiled the Chip Fundamental Technology Research Laboratory, signaling state endorsement.
After Huawei’s 2019 U.S. blacklist forced “extreme survival mode,” He Tingbo led a secret backup chip project now showcased by the lab.
Chinese officials view the chip strategy as a way to neutralize U.S. sanctions and boost leverage, while U.S. export controls on high-end chips are challenged by Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law.

Summary

Huawei leader expands

Under her leadership, Huawei’s semiconductor portfolio contributed 880.9 billion yuan ($130 billion) to 2025 revenue.
She joined Huawei in 1996 and grew HiSilicon from a small internal unit into a global semiconductor operation.
She is one of only two women on Huawei’s 17-member board, serving alongside Meng Wanzhou.
He Tingbo received a $400 million annual budget in 2003 to lead Huawei’s chip development.

Summary

Huawei Announces Openness

He Tingbo announced Huawei will pursue openness by inviting scientists, engineers and industry partners to develop semiconductors.
At ISCAS 2026, Huawei unveiled the ? Scaling Law, integrating devices, circuits, chips and systems to compress delays and steer the semiconductor sector.
Huawei’s LogicFolding architecture cuts resistive and capacitive loads, raising transistor density, while He said the ? Scaling Law provides a shared-research platform because no single company can solve all challenges.

History

Historical Context

In August 2018 the U.S. NDAA barred Huawei equipment from federal use, and on 15 May 2019 the Commerce Department placed Huawei and 70 foreign subsidiaries on the Entity List. The move prompted Huawei to stockpile 1.5–2 years of chips and spurred China’s push, led by Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang and SMIC, to expand domestic semiconductor capacity. This policy shift underpins today’s drive for self-sufficiency in chips.

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Huawei Starts 1.4nm

Huawei will start 1.4-nm chip production by 2031 using LogicFolding, narrowing its gap with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which targets 2028 production.
He Tingbo said LogicFolding will power Kirin mobile chips launching this fall, and Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law boosts speed.
Patents aim to raise transistor density without EUV tools, prompting SMIC shares to rise 19% in Shanghai and leading Huawei to plan AI chips to replace Nvidia products.

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