Huawei pasa de superviviente a rival de Nvidia
La firma supera sus ventas anteriores a las sanciones gracias a una gigantesca apuesta por la innovación
Huawei's transformation from a survivor to a rival of Nvidia has been remarkable. Seven years after US restrictions, the company's annual declared sales reached €115 billion in 2025, surpassing pre-sanction levels, thanks to massive investment in R&D. The launch of new AI chips this month and slated for next year marks the final step to confront Nvidia.
In 2018, Huawei led the global rollout of 5G, with its mobile division trailing only Samsung in market share. However, everything changed in 2019 when Washington added Huawei to an export blacklist, cutting off access to essential components and software, including Android. To survive, Huawei abandoned its low-end phone division, exited some Western markets, and doubled down on innovation.
Today, Huawei's own processors and software power its mobile devices and appliances, and the company relies on domestic suppliers for components, accounting for up to 60% of their value. Growth sectors like energy and automotive have become the group's fastest-growing businesses. Huawei now leads China's AI chip market with a 41% share, up from virtually none just a few years ago.
The company also benefits from the significant support of AI lab DeepSeek for deploying its hardware. These developments have significantly altered Huawei's finances. In the first half of 2025, R&D expenses accounted for over a quarter of sales, at €15.8 billion, far exceeding Nvidia's 9% in its latest fiscal year. Huawei's long-term debt tripled by 2025 compared to seven years prior, reaching €28.6 billion, although Nvidia's debt has grown even faster.
Huawei and China might soon realize that the battle was worth fighting. The company claims its "Tau scaling law" allows it to produce high-performance chips without Western lithography equipment. Coupled with a special networking technology, it bets on being able to connect clusters, or "supernodes," cutting Nvidia's individual chip advantage.
The next major challenge will be to secure components and machinery to manufacture these products at scale and meet national demand. However, after all the turmoil, it appears to be a rather pleasant problem. Opinions are those of Reuters Breakingviews columnists.
Written by urgent.news from El Pais Economia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
