Qualcomm will license patents behind Huawei’s LogicFolding chip architecture, report says
Qualcomm will license patents behind Huawei’s LogicFolding, according to one report, as a teardown shows off the Kirin 9050 Pro’s two dies.
Qualcomm has struck a licensing deal for Huawei's LogicFolding chip architecture, Bloomberg has reported. This technology, utilized in the Kirin 9050 Pro, involves splitting nearly all blocks across two bonded dies, with the lower die primarily housing cache and I/O. The multiyear cross-license agreement encompasses 5G devices, AI services, near- and co-packaged optics, and networks, according to a Huawei spokesperson.
Qualcomm is also set to acquire specific U.S. patents from Huawei in compute, AI, networking, and other technologies, as stated in a release. However, neither company explicitly named any patents, LogicFolding, or the chips that incorporate it. Bloomberg frames this deal as a victory for Huawei, affirming its chipmaking capabilities.
The agreement, pending approval, marks Qualcomm's first time purchasing patents from Huawei. LogicFolding aims to achieve faster data transmission as an alternative to China's limited access to EUV lithography machines. The Kirin 9050 Pro, found in the Huawei Mate XT 2 tri-fold smartphone launched on September 7, employs this technology.
Huawei's design philosophy, known as the "Tau Scaling Law," emphasizes signal delay over transistor size. The two dies in the Kirin 9050 Pro are bonded face to face, with execution units on top and PLLs on the lower die. This configuration reportedly results in shorter signal paths, reduced energy consumption, and up to 66% lower power for certain components, while preserving or enhancing performance.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
