Huawei reportedly building new chip chemical firm to rival global leaders

Huawei continues to seek ways to help it pace ahead in the chip tech race against its global rivals, and the recent attempt in this segment is a chipset chemical firm. A new report sheds light on the Chinese tech giant’s future goals.

Nikkei Asia reported that Huawei is striving to develop a chip chemical firm to challenge its global competitors. It will be a significant step to boost the semiconductor supply chain in China.

The OEM is seemingly planning to turn Zhuhai Cornerstone Technologies Co. into an “end-to-end” supplier to compete with Shin-Etsu Chemical, JSR, Merck, Dupont and Dow, and more.

Cornerstone Technologies

Zhuhai Cornerstone was founded in 2022. It focuses on providing turnkey solutions to all crucial materials related to chipmaking. Over time, it has even hired top talents from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to regulate its production lines.

Apart from chipset manufacturing, Zhuhai Cornerstone Technologies Co. develops photoresists, chemical mechanical polishing slurries, polishing pads, and more.

The company even says that it has a “world-class research and development team, with over 60% of its researchers holding doctoral degrees”.

Cornerstone has been helping Chinese chipmakers reduce their reliance on US products and their advanced technologies. Looks like Huawei now aims to take the help of this firm to enhance its chipset business in China.

According to Nikkei Asia, Cornerstone not only aims to develop one or two kinds of chemicals but also build a wide range of chemicals that are crucial in all chipmaking processes.

Huawei reportedly building new chip chemical firm to rival global leaders (Image Credits: Huawei)

Many Huawei-linked executives like Yu Hai and Xin Xiaohong serve as the top legal representatives of Cornerstone. The report also says that Huawei, the State-owned Assets Supervision, and the Administration Commission of the State Council have been well supporting Cornerstone.

The latest attempt by Huawei shows that the company is working hard to achieve growth in the chipset field amid the US-China technology war.

Despite many trade challenges, it is seeking new ways to improve its chip and offer better alternatives to foreign technologies. On the flip side, some analysts say:

“China has strong incentives to develop its own chemicals and materials, as it already has a strong chemical industry, just not yet at the high-end level required for semiconductor manufacturing.”

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