Huawei quietly funds US research despite being banned: Report

A new report says that Huawei secretly funds US research even after facing trade challenges in the region. The input reveals that the Chinese tech giant has been the ‘one and only’ funder in this activity for a long while, through a foundation.

Further details read this is generally a US research competition that started in 2022. The contest awarded millions of dollars of prizes to its contestants, particularly scientists and researchers from worldwide, some from the top US universities.

Note that the top universities here include Harvard and the University of Southern California, which object to working with the Chinese firm. Yet, Huawei quietly funds the US research competition despite sanctions and being blacklisted from the region.

This was mainly possible through a Washington-based foundation Optica. Huawei has been part of this funding program since 2022. A spokesperson said there is nothing like a secret as the company’s contribution is openly visible on Optica’s website.

“Huawei is proud to be one of many technology companies from around the world, supporting the Foundation’s important work.” –  says Huawei spokesperson.

A partner at Akin specializing in export controls – Kevin Wolf sees Huawei’s contribution as bad news. He believes that this could lead China to make innovative techs and products for both defense as well as commercial interests.

Another defense contractor – James Mulvenon added that this puts a bad impression on a prestigious research foundation for accepting funds from a Chinese firm, secretly. It ultimately raises many questions related to security concerns for the US.

Optica’s response:

The CEO of Optica Foundation – Elizabeth Rogan says that the firm has already listed its donors on its annual report. Besides, many donors prefer to remain anonymous including a few US donors and there is nothing bad or unusual about this practice.

She also mentioned that donations from Huawei always get reviewed by the outside legal council before becoming a part of the foundation. The input states that Huawei operates many such competitions in other parts of the globe as well and there is nothing to stress on this matter.

(Source – Bloomberg)