Huawei to invest $1bn annually on R&D

Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies Co. will invest at least $1 billion every year from now on in research and development of internet infrastructure such as servers and software, its top executive said. The aggressive spending plans are part of the Shenzhen-based company’s continued expansion far beyond its mainstay telecommunications equipment and handsets. Huawei researchers and engineers working on technologies related to infrastructure has increased sharply to 16,000 this year from 3,000 in 2012, The Wall Street Journal reports. Huawei’s move comes as demand for hardware, software and services related to data centers and cloud computing continues to grow world-wide. Last year, the industry’s global revenue from servers, storage and other internet infrastructure equipment rose 22% to $29 billion, according to research firm IDC.