Huawei's Compensation Strategy: Clustering Chips Amid Tech Rivalry
Huawei's Founder Disregards Potency of Its Own Semiconductors - Huawei CEO discusses the robustness of the company's in-house semiconductor technology.
In the midst of trade squabbles between China and the U.S., Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has played down the company's chip technology prowess. Ren, in an interview with the People's Daily, admitted that Huawei's individual chips lag a generation behind those of U.S. competitors.
The U.S. is overhyping Huawei's strength. "There are plenty of Chinese companies excelling in chip development, with Huawei being one of them," Ren asserted.
Huawei has long been under the scrutiny of U.S. sanctions and has been striving to create self-sufficient chips. Recent warnings from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia suggest that U.S. restrictions on shipments to China have transformed Huawei into a formidable opponent. Moreover, due to U.S. bans, companies in China are restricted from accessing advanced AI chips from Nvidia. This obstacle has opened an opportunity for Huawei to capture the market share.
Strength in Numbers: Clustering Chips
The interview with Huawei's founder was published during the trade negotiations in London. Both the U.S. and Chinese delegations have been deliberating on the removal of trade barriers since Monday.
A worry for the U.S. and other nations is China's export controls on rare earths. Washington seeks a relaxation and, in exchange, may loosen its trade restrictions, such as in the area of computer chips or aircraft components where China heavily depends on foreign technology.
According to Ren, Huawei is making up for the technical shortcomings through a process called "clustering." This method involves connecting multiple chips to pool computing power, compensating for the weaknesses of individual chips.
Adapting and Innovating for Edge
The technical gap in semiconductor technology has forced Huawei to innovate. To bridge the performance gap with U.S. counterparts, Huawei is investing in unconventional techniques like advanced packaging (stacking chiplets to make processors smaller and more efficient) and deeper research in mathematics and physics[1][2]. These strategies allow Huawei to circumnavigate some of the limitations imposed by restrictions on access to cutting-edge manufacturing equipment.
While Huawei is closing the performance gap for specific applications, U.S. chipmakers still lead in the fundamental advancements of cutting-edge semiconductor technology. However, Huawei's unique strategies enable it to remain competitive in crucial areas, particularly in AI and large-scale computing, amidst the tech rivalry[1][2].
- Despite the technical shortcomings in individual chips, Huawei is compensating by implementing a process called "clustering" to connect multiple chips, pooling their computing power to make up for weaknesses.
- In an effort to adapt and innovate, Huawei is investing in unconventional techniques such as advanced packaging and deeper research in mathematics and physics, allowing the company to circumvent some limitations imposed by restrictions on access to cutting-edge manufacturing equipment.
