How Huawei Built a Multi‑Series Chip Empire: From AI to 5G

This article provides a comprehensive overview of Huawei's chip industry layout, tracing its thirty‑year R&D journey and detailing the major chip families that power AI, computing, mobile, 5G, IoT, and video applications.

1. Huawei’s 30‑Year Chip R&D Journey

In 1991 Huawei launched its chip business with the SD502 chip for switch interfaces. By 1993 it released the SD509 supporting non‑blocking slot switching, used in the C&C08 digital switch, which became a global bestseller. In 1995 the Central Research Department was created to take over telecom‑system chip development. In 2004 Huawei founded HiSilicon, initially focusing on digital security chips. The 2009 K3V1 chip marked Huawei’s first foray into mobile‑phone chips, and in 2012 HiSilicon became a first‑level department.

2. Rapidly Rising Computing Chips: Kunpeng and Ascend

Huawei’s “Kunpeng+Ascend” dual‑engine strategy addresses the growing compute demand of the IoT era. Kunpeng servers and PCs are based on ARM V8, fully designed in‑house, offering up to three‑fold performance over x86 in compatible workloads. The flagship Kunpeng 920 (7 nm) features 64 cores, 2.6 GHz, 8‑channel DDR4, PCIe 4.0, and 640 Gbps bandwidth, achieving a SPECint score 25 % above the industry benchmark.

Ascend AI chips complement the compute line. Ascend 310 (edge) delivers 16 TOPS @ INT8 with 8 W power, while Ascend 910 (training) reaches 512 TOPS @ INT8 and 256 TFLOPS @ FP16 at 310 W, surpassing NVIDIA Tesla V100 and Google TPU v3. Future AI chips such as Ascend 610, 320, and 920 are planned.

3. From Catch‑Up to Leader: Kirin Mobile SoC

Kirin integrates application processors (CPU, GPU, ISP) and baseband processors (BP) into a single SoC. Early attempts (K3V1, K3V2) suffered from outdated processes, but the 2013 Kirin 910 (four‑core, 28 nm, Mali 450MP4, integrated Balong 710 baseband) marked Huawei’s breakthrough. Subsequent generations (Kirin 920‑980, 620‑810) advanced to 16 nm, 10 nm, and 7 nm, adding NPU for on‑device AI. The flagship Kirin 990/990 5G (7 nm/7 nm+) integrates a 5G modem, achieving 2.3 Gbps downlink and 1.25 Gbps uplink.

4. 5G Communication Chips: Balong and Tiangang

Balong series (Balong 700, 4G Cat 4‑19, Balong 5G01, Balong 5000) broke Qualcomm’s monopoly and delivered industry‑leading 5G speeds (up to 6.5 Gbps). Tiangang, the first 5G base‑station core chip, offers high integration, 2.5× compute improvement, 64‑channel control, and 50 % size reduction.

5. IoT Connectivity Chips: Boudica and Lingxiao

Boudica NB‑IoT chips (Boudica 120, 150, 200) target low‑power, wide‑coverage IoT applications, with shipments exceeding 2 million units by 2019. Lingxiao Wi‑Fi chips (Lingxiao 5651, 1151) power Huawei routers, offering four‑core CPUs and dual‑band Wi‑Fi.

6. Video and Display Chips: Honghu

Honghu series serve smart‑display markets; the Honghu 818 (dual‑A73+A53 CPU, 4×Mali‑G51 GPU) powers Huawei’s Honor Smart Screen, delivering advanced HDR, dynamic compensation, and high‑quality audio.

Overall, Huawei now maintains five major chip series—Kirin (mobile), Kunpeng (computing), Ascend (AI), Balong/Tiangang (5G), Boudica/Lingxiao (IoT), and Honghu (video)—demonstrating a successful transition from a modest start in 1991 to a leading position in multiple semiconductor domains.

Source: Xingye Computer Team