Skip to main content

Huawei Makes Breakthrough in Design Tools Used to Create 14nm Chips: Report

Huawei Technologies has made breakthroughs in electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips produced at and above 14-nanometre technology, Caijing financial news magazine reported on Friday, citing a speech by a senior Huawei executive.

Huawei will complete testing on the tools this year, rotating chairman Xu Zhijun said in a speech on Feb 28., Caijing reported. Huawei has developed 78 tools related to chip hardware and software, the report added.

Huawei did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Chips produced at the 14nm level were first introduced in smartphones in the mid-2010s and are two to three generations behind leading-edge technology.

Huawei, a major supplier of equipment used in 5G telecommunications networks, has been the target of successive rounds of US export controls since 2019, restricting its supply of chips and chip-design tools from US companies.

Chip design companies use EDA software to produce the blueprints for chips before they are mass manufactured at fabs.

The EDA software market is dominated by three overseas firms - Cadence Design Systems Inc and Synopsys Inc, which are headquartered in the United States, and Mentor Graphics, which is owned by Germany's Siemens AG.

China is home to a handful of domestic EDA software makers, but experts do not consider them globally competitive.

All three overseas EDA companies fell subject to Washington's sanctions against Huawei in 2020.

When the restrictions went into effect, the company's chip design division lost access to software and updates that would enable them to design low-node processors for its smartphones, as well as access to advanced manufacturing tools at chip production fabs.

The company's smartphone division saw sales tank as a result.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.


from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/SzlLd9p

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Xiaomi Offers Free Xiaomi 12 Pro Upgrade to Mi 11 Ultra Users Facing Wi-Fi Issues

Xiaomi is offering a free upgrade to a Xiaomi 12 Pro for Mi 11 Ultra users who are facing Wi-Fi issues. These users also have the option to further upgrade to the company's latest Xiaomi 13 Pro by paying an extra fee of Rs. 30,000. Just recently, the company extended the warranty of the Mi 11 Ultra alongside other smartphones by two years, after users complained of camera and motherboard issues. The current offer — including the free upgrade and the paid one, is extended to the Mi 11 Ultra users who are having trouble with Wi-Fi on their handsets. The Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B announced the offers in a video message via Twitter. He added that the  Mi 11 Ultra users who had previously paid and upgraded their handsets to the Xiaomi 12 Pro will be offered a full refund. They will need to contact the company online or through the nearest Xiaomi service centre. Notably, this refund is only applicable to users who upgraded their handsets due to Wi-Fi issues....

Softbank CEO Says He is Heavy User of ChatGPT Speaks to OpenAIs Sam Altman Often

SoftBank Group 's Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday he is a "heavy user" of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot from Microsoft -backed startup OpenAI. Son said he is speaking "almost everyday" to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman , who has made high-profile visits to Tokyo this year as he looks to capitalise on interest in generative AI and exert influence on the regulation of the burgeoning technology around the world. "I am chatting with ChatGPT everyday - I am a heavy user," Son told shareholders of the group's telecoms subsidiary. Son has stepped back from public pronouncements in recent months to focus on the planned listing of chip designer Arm as his technology investment conglomerate books heavy loss due to the sliding value of its portfolio. The group holds its annual general meeting on Wednesday with the market looking for details of Son's investment outlook at a time when excitement over AI is driving capital...