Huawei unveils chip architecture targeting 1.4 nm performance by 2031

07:39

By: Dakir Madiha

Huawei unveils chip architecture targeting 1.4 nm performance by 2031

Huawei Technologies announced a new semiconductor scaling law and chip architecture that it claims could achieve performance equivalent to a 1.4 nanometer process node by 2031, marking one of China’s most ambitious attempts to develop an independent advanced chip ecosystem despite continuing US sanctions.

The announcement was made by He Tingbo during the opening keynote of the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems in Shanghai. Huawei presented what it calls the Tau scaling law, a new principle designed to move beyond traditional transistor miniaturization by focusing instead on “temporal scaling,” a method aimed at improving chip performance through signal propagation efficiency rather than geometric shrinking alone.

The company said the new approach, informally referred to by peers as “Her’s law,” underpins a core architecture named LogicFolding. According to Huawei, the design reduces resistive and capacitive loads during signal transmission, allowing higher transistor density and improved computational efficiency. The company stated that it has already applied the new scaling model in the design and mass production of 381 chips over the past six years.

Huawei said upcoming Kirin processors scheduled for release later this year will become the first commercial chips built on the LogicFolding architecture. The company did not release independent benchmark data or manufacturing metrics confirming the claimed performance levels. Industry analysts say a transistor density equivalent to 1.4 nm would place Huawei among the most advanced semiconductor developers globally by the end of the decade.

The announcement comes as China accelerates efforts to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor technology under mounting export restrictions from the United States. Since 2019, US sanctions have limited Huawei’s access to advanced chipmaking tools and cutting-edge foundry services supplied by companies such as ASML and TSMC.

Huawei’s current Kirin processors, including the Kirin 9030 used in Mate 80 smartphones, are manufactured by SMIC using production technologies analysts estimate to be between 7 nm and 5 nm. Reports published in 2025 also indicated that Huawei and SMIC were collaborating on a carbon-based 3 nm chip design intended to narrow the technological gap with Western and Taiwanese competitors.

Questions remain over whether LogicFolding can realistically deliver sub-2 nm equivalent performance without access to extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, which China still cannot obtain due to export controls. Semiconductor researchers and global chipmakers are expected to closely monitor Huawei’s progress as the race for next-generation computing technologies intensifies.