Nvidia has flagged Huawei as a formidable competitor in several key categories, despite stringent U.S. sanctions imposed on the Chinese tech giant. Nvidia identified Huawei as a rival in chips, cloud services, computing processing, and networking products, underscoring the competitive landscape in China's technology sector. This development comes as Huawei makes significant strides in its recovery, notably with the launch of its Mate 60 Pro smartphone in 2023.
The U.S. government has curtailed Huawei's access to technology from American suppliers since 2019, imposing restrictions on advanced 5G chips and the Google Android operating system. These sanctions significantly impacted Huawei, causing its revenue to stagnate in 2020 and plummet by nearly 29% in 2021. However, the company has shown resilience, with its consumer segment bouncing back and achieving a 17% year-on-year revenue increase to 251.5 billion yuan in 2023.
Huawei's resurgence in the smartphone market is marked by the introduction of the Mate 70 series, which features HarmonyOS NEXT, the company's first fully self-developed operating system. This strategic move highlights Huawei's determination to reduce reliance on foreign technology.
In 2024, Huawei's revenue exceeded 860 billion yuan ($118.27 billion), marking a 22% increase from the previous year and the fastest growth since a 32% surge in 2016. The company typically releases its annual reports in March, providing detailed insights into its financial performance.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang commented on the vibrant competitive environment in China:
"There's a fair amount of competition in China."
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
Huawei's Mate 60 Pro has garnered attention for offering download speeds typically associated with 5G networks, thanks to an advanced semiconductor chip. This advancement has been a critical factor in Huawei's ability to re-establish itself as a major player in the smartphone industry.
Blacklisted by the U.S. for national security reasons, Huawei has had to navigate significant challenges. Despite this, its revenue performance in 2024 represents the fastest growth since 2016, according to CNBC calculations.