Huawei now claims it can produce its own chips using 14nm manufacturing process

While Samsung and Apple are launching devices equipped with 4nm chipsets, Huawei is announcing progress towards the trendy 14nm manufacturing process in 2014.

While it sounds like a joke, Huawei’s achievement is actually quite impressive, with the Chinese-backed tech giant on its way to overcoming huge hurdles raised by the US banning access to Western technologies. In other words, Huawei claims that it will soon be able to manufacture 14nm or better microprocessors by its own means, without relying on tools and technologies patented by Western companies.

Admittedly, the claim made by CEO Xu Zhijun in a February 28 speech to a local publication cannot be substantiated for now. According to Reuters, Huawei has developed 78 new tools related to semiconductor hardware/software design and manufacturing, bringing the company even closer to its coveted independence from global semiconductor suppliers.

While it probably won’t restore Huawei’s competitiveness in the smartphone market, the ability to produce 14nm chips locally could at least partially reopen other important markets such as 5G communications equipment and infotainment solutions for the automotive industry and other consumer electronics.