7nm Huawei chip in 2024, 14nm this year?

Huawei is preparing to print a 7nm chip in the coming month, and it could go on shelves by early 2024. So, does that mean that the company will bring 12-14nm chips later this year?

According to NikkeiAsia, Huawei will make new 7nm chipsets with a domestic chip maker – SMIC. These are designed for smartphones with a 5G band.

The report reveals that SMIC is working on 7-nanometer process technology. Meanwhile, its rival – TSMC is two generations ahead in the competition by achieving 3nm and 4nm nodes.

In the current scenario, the most important thing is to get the capability to print advanced chip designs on the wafer. That’s the only task Chinese companies are up to and Huawei is a key to moving this will forward.

Because the Chinese tech maker already has China’s biggest semiconductor designer – HiSilicon and a lot of experience in the field. The company is training its partners and helping them to overcome challenges to build a better semiconductor supply chain.

Regarding production, an insider says that Huawei could use a 7nm chip by 2024. This makes sense as the current yield is likely to be around 50%. However, there’s a lot of room for improvement in the technology node. Thus, Huawei can put more investment to mature this technology node.

Huawei is preparing this chip to be used on different platforms and not only for smartphones. Still, the biggest challenge would be to mature the process technology to get the maximum performance and efficiency for the devices.

Earlier this year, Huawei surprised us by announcing a breakthrough in 14nm EDA tools, which are used to print new semiconductors. SMIC already can print 14nm chips and it’s quite a stable production for the chip maker.

Therefore, we may see at least 12-14nm Huawei chip devices launch by this year, if not 7nm. Still, there’s an official confirmation awaited about Huawei’s chip production plans.