Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) has made advances in electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips produced at and above 14-nanometer technology, according to Caijing, citing a senior executive’s speech.
Huawei will complete testing on the tools this year, said rotating chairman Xu Zhijun in a speech on Feb. 28, according to a Chinese financial news magazine. According to the report, Huawei has created 78 tools related to chip hardware and software.
The announcement comes as Huawei and other Chinese technology firms scramble to localize their supply chains in the face of escalating US sanctions.
According to a Caijing transcript of Xu’s remarks, Huawei collaborated with domestic EDA companies to develop the software, “basically realizing the localization of EDA tools above 14nm.”
Chip design firms use EDA software to create blueprints for chips before they are mass-produced at fabs.
Huawei will also allow partners and customers to use the software, according to Xu.
14nm chips were first used in smartphones in the mid-2010s and are two to three generations behind cutting-edge technology.
Since 2019, Huawei, a major supplier of equipment used in 5G telecommunications networks, has been the target of successive rounds of US export controls, limiting its supply of chips and chip-design tools from US firms.
Cadence Design Systems Inc (CDNS.O) and Synopsys Inc (SNPS.O), both headquartered in the United States, dominate the EDA software market, as does Mentor Graphics, which is owned by Germany’s Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE).
Although China has a few domestic EDA software makers, experts believe they are not globally competitive.
In 2020, all three overseas EDA firms will be subject to Washington’s sanctions against Huawei.
When the restrictions were implemented, the company’s chip design division lost access to software and updates that would allow it to design low-node processors for its smartphones, as well as advanced manufacturing tools at chip production fabs.
As a result, the company’s smartphone division saw a drop in sales.
