SHANGHAI / SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – Huawei Technologies Co [HWT.UL] It will stop making its flagship Kirin chipsets next month, financial magazine Caixin said on Saturday, as the impact of US pressure on the Chinese tech giant mounts.
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei company logo is seen at Shenzhen International Airport in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on June 17, 2019. To coincide with the special report HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS / BGI REUTERS / Aly Song / File Photo
Pressure from the United States on Huawei’s suppliers has made it impossible for the company’s HiSilicon chip division to continue manufacturing the chipsets, key components for mobile phones, said Richard Yu, executive director of Huawei’s Consumer Business Unit. , at the launch of the company’s new Mate 40 phone. .
With US-China relations at their worst in decades, Washington is pressuring governments around the world to oust Huawei, arguing that it would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies that it spies for China.
The United States is also seeking the extradition from Canada of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou, accused of bank fraud.
In May, the US Department of Commerce issued orders requiring vendors of software and manufacturing equipment to refrain from doing business with Huawei without first obtaining a license.
“From September 15 onwards, our flagship Kirin processors cannot be produced,” Yu said, according to Caixin. “Our AI-powered chips cannot be processed either. This is a great loss for us. ”
Huawei’s HiSilicon division relies on software from US companies such as Cadence Design Systems Inc or Synopsys Inc to design its chips and outsources production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which uses equipment from US companies.
Huawei declined to comment on the Caixin report. TSMC, Cadence and Synopsys did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.
HiSilicon produces a wide range of chips, including its Kirin line of processors, which only power Huawei smartphones and are the only Chinese processors that can compete with Qualcomm’s in quality.
“Huawei began exploring the chip industry more than 10 years ago, starting from a long lag, a little lag, catching up, and then a leader,” Yu said. “We invested enormous resources in R&D and we went through a difficult process.”
Reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai and David Kirton in Shenzhen; Edited by William Mallard
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