Huawei Targets 1.4nm Chips by 2031 Amid China AI Push

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Huawei's chip ambitions could be entering a more important phase for investors. The company said it has developed a new path that could shorten the gap with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. NYSE:TSM, potentially giving China a way to make advanced semiconductors without the most cutting-edge equipment. Huawei's semiconductor chief He Tingbo said on Monday that Huawei plans to start making 1.4-nanometer chips by 2031 using its own LogicFolding technology. That compares with TSMC's previously stated plan to begin mass production of 1.4nm chips in 2028, leaving Huawei and its manufacturing partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. roughly five years behind the industry leader today.The bigger issue is whether Huawei can turn that roadmap into large-scale production. If it can produce 1.4nm chips in meaningful quantities, it could possibly challenge the industry view that ASML Holding NV's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines are needed to mass-produce chips at 5nm or more advanced. That matters because smaller transistors allow more of them to fit on a chip, making the chip more powerful. These advanced semiconductors are also central to the most sophisticated AI technologies, which is why the equipment gap has become such a major pressure point in the global chip race.For investors, Huawei's roadmap adds another layer to China's semiconductor self-sufficiency push. The Shenzhen-based company has become one of Beijing's key players after years of US-led export restrictions on advanced chips and chipmaking equipment somewhat curbed China's AI progress. Huawei also announced in September a three-year roadmap for AI chips aimed at filling the vacuum left by Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA, whose most advanced semiconductors are banned for China. The core question now is not just whether Huawei can design a workaround, but whether it can scale one.

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