Huawei Technologies Co has finally run out of in-house-designed semiconductors for its smartphones after US trade sanctions effectively cut the company’s access to advanced new chips, according to a report by Counterpoint Research, reports the South China Morning Post.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, which briefly surpassed Samsung Electronics to lead global smartphone shipments in early 2020, has struggled to get new in-house-designed integrated circuits (ICs) manufactured by a major chip foundry after Washington tightened trade restrictions in August 2020, covering the firm’s access to semiconductors developed or produced using US technology, from anywhere.
Privately-held Huawei and chip design arm HiSilicon were added to the US government’s trade blacklist, known as the Entity List, in 2019. At the time, HiSilicon said it had a backup plan to ensure the group’s survival, while research firms Haitong and Canalys indicated that Huawei had been stockpiling critical US components for almost a year.
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