Qualcomm and Huawei sign multi-year patent license agreement covering 5G, AI, compute, and networking

Qualcomm and Huawei reach multi-year patent agreement

Qualcomm and Huawei have announced a multi-year patent license agreement covering technologies including 5G, compute, artificial intelligence, and networking.

As part of the agreement, Qualcomm will purchase certain US patents from Huawei in these technology areas.

The companies have not disclosed the financial terms or provided a timeline for closing the transaction. Completion will depend on receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

Huawei said the agreement is expected to increase the total value of its patent licensing agreements to more than $6.9 billion once completed.

John Han, Qualcomm's executive vice president and general manager of technology licensing, said the agreement recognizes Qualcomm's contributions to foundational wireless technologies and its 5G standard-essential patent licensing program. He also said it reflects Qualcomm's recognition of Huawei's continuing innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields.

Alan Fan, Huawei's chief intellectual property officer, said the company's long-term investment in fundamental research and development has contributed to mobile communications and other technology areas. He cited Huawei's contributions to 4G and 5G standards, including signal transmission technology based on polar codes, as part of the company's role in mobile communications.

Fan said the agreement demonstrates the value of Huawei's innovations while recognizing Qualcomm's foundational contributions to modern communications technologies.

Background to the agreement

The announcement comes two years after the US government revoked some export licenses held by Intel and Qualcomm. Those licenses had allowed the companies to supply Huawei with certain semiconductors. Qualcomm had previously received a US government license in 2020 to sell older 4G chips to Huawei.

The US government barred Huawei from providing equipment to the US government under the Defense Authorization Act of 2018, citing the company's close links to the Chinese government. A broader import ban followed, and in 2020 President Donald Trump signed legislation preventing US rural telecommunications carriers from using Huawei network equipment.