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Huawei
TechTech War

Huawei spin-off Honor steps up chip development with new design unit in Shanghai

  • The subsidiary’s business scope includes chip design and AI software development, public information shows
  • The move comes fresh on the heels of the closure of rival Oppo’s chip design team, which laid off 3,000 people last month

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Shoppers seen inside an Honor smartphone retail store in China. Photo: Shutterstock
Lilian Zhang
Chinese smartphone brand Honor, a former sub-brand under Huawei Technologies Co, has set up a subsidiary involved in chip design, after rival Oppo shut down its in-house chip unit last month and laid off hundreds of employees.

The subsidiary, named Shanghai Honor Intelligent Technology Development Co, was founded on Wednesday in Shanghai’s coastal Lingang Free Trade Zone with a registered capital of 100 million yuan (US$14 million), according to business data provider Qichacha. The company is wholly owned by Honor Terminal Co.

The new unit’s business scope includes chip design, sales and related services, and development of artificial intelligence (AI) application software, public information shows.

In a statement, Honor said the subsidiary will become one of its five research centres in China, focusing on research and development of core software, graphics algorithms, communications and photography. The four other facilities are located in Beijing, Shenzhen, Xian and Nanjing, according to the company’s website.

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While Honor did not confirm whether the new unit will work on chip development, the move has caught wide media attention in China, as it came on the heels of the abrupt disbandment of smartphone maker Oppo’s chip design team Zeku, which led to the dismissal of nearly 3,000 engineers.
Oppo said the “difficult decision’ stemmed from “uncertainties in the global economy and smartphone market”, but it sparked speculation that non-financial factors may have contributed to Zeku’s demise, such as US-China geopolitical tensions. It also led to questions on whether Chinese smartphone manufacturers are capable of developing their own chips.
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