A subsidiary of Huawei Technologies is exporting new Chinese-made processors for security cameras, which is a new indication that the Chinese tech giant is figuring out how to get over export restrictions that have been in place for four years.
The shipments from the company’s HiSilicon chip design section to manufacturers of surveillance cameras began this year. At least some of the consumers, according to one of the people informed on the unit, are Chinese.
In recent weeks, Huawei has also announced new smartphones that make use of cutting-edge, allegedly domestically produced, advanced chips. The changes show that Washington’s export restrictions, which have since 2019 prevented the Chinese tech giant from buying parts and technology from American companies without permission, are being circumvented.
According to a person who is familiar with the supply chain for the surveillance camera sector, “these surveillance chips are relatively easy to manufacture compared to smartphone processors,” adding that HiSilicon’s comeback will shake up the market.
The company’s apparent ability to get beyond American regulations on chip design software is a significant contributing element. Despite being two to three generations behind cutting-edge technology, Huawei stated in March that it had made advancements in design tools for chips produced at and above 14 nanometres.
HiSilicon primarily provides semiconductors for Huawei hardware, although it has also served external clients like Dahua Technology and Hikvision. It was the leading chip provider to the security camera industry prior to the implementation of U.S. export limitations; brokerage Southwest Securities estimated its global share in 2018 at 60%.
HiSilicon’s global market share decreased to just 3.9% by 2021, based on information from consultancy company Frost & Sullivan.
HiSilicon has supplied some low-end surveillance chips since 2019, according to one of the people briefed on the unit’s work, but its focus is on the high-end market and taking back market share from companies like Taiwan’s Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
Due to the sensitivity of the subject, all three sources opted not to be named.
Huawei opted not to respond.
ADVANCED TOOLS
When Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro in late August, a new smartphone with cutting-edge technology that consumers said was capable of 5G speeds, the company attracted attention. The Chinese state media and the general public applauded the occasion as a comeback for Huawei’s smartphone business after it was hobbled by U.S. sanctions.
The Mate 60 Pro was inspected by research company TechInsights, which discovered that it was powered by a brand-new Kirin 9000S, an innovative chip that was most likely produced in China by the nation’s premier chip foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).
Regarding the phone’s 5G capabilities or how it created the cutting-edge processor, Huawei has not made any comments. The Kirin series was historically created by HiSilicon, and before the United States sanctioned Huawei, TSMC in Taiwan collaborated with them to produce it.
U.S. lawmakers have called for further pressure and “more effective export controls” on Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s leading chip foundry, in response to the launch.
According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, there is no proof that Huawei can mass-produce smartphones with cutting-edge technology.
HiSilicon’s access to electronic design automation (EDA) software from Cadence Design Systems Inc., Synopsys Inc., and Siemens AG’s Mentor Graphics has been severely restricted by U.S. sanctions. The chip-design industry, which creates designs for chips prior to their mass production, is dominated by the offerings of three businesses.
The Mate 60 Pro and other parts, including its radio frequency power chip, were examined by TechInsights analyst Dan Hutcheson, who noted that this research also revealed Huawei had access to sophisticated EDA tools that “they are not supposed to have.”
He added, “We don’t know if they obtained them illegally or, more likely if the Chinese produced their own EDA tools.
