China's Huawei prioritises AI chips, slows down Mate 60 phone production

Posted under: AI technologies
Date: 2024-02-06
China's Huawei prioritises AI chips, slows down Mate 60 phone production

Soaring appetites for Huawei's AI chips, coupled with manufacturing constraints, have forced the Chinese tech giant to prioritize AI and slow production for its premium Mate 60 phones. Huawei has prioritized production of Ascend chips over Kirin chips and so has slowed manufacturing for Mate 60 smartphones, the people said, without disclosing when the arrangement began. The firm is also working to improve its yield rate—the number of usable chips per wafer—so it is hoping this production arrangement is short-term, the people said, declining to be identified as they were not authorized to speak with media. Huawei has been low-key on its chip manufacturing capability and ambition, and there is little public information on its progress or how it has managed to produce advanced chips. Its advancements became apparent after it surprised market watchers with an unflagged August launch of the Mate 60 series during U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to China.