Huawei and Qualcomm have signed a new multi-year patent licensing agreement covering technologies including 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking.
Under the agreement, both companies will cross-license patents from their respective portfolios notably Huawei’s LogicFolding technology.
At the moment, the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals.
Huawei and Qualcomm to cross-license patents
Under the cross-licensing arrangement, Huawei gets access to patents from Qualcomm’s portfolio across several technology areas including 5G, computing, AI and networking, while Qualcomm in return will get reciprocal access to Huawei’s patents. In addition, Qualcomm will also purchase certain Huawei patents in the United States covering computing, AI, networking and other technologies.
Bloomberg reports that the deal also includes Qualcomm licensing patents underpinning Huawei’s LogicFolding chip technology. Although both companies have not disclosed the transaction value, the report quoted a Huawei spokesperson saying that the overall contract value is expected to exceed USD6.9 billion (about RM28.2 billion).
Both companies said the agreement reflects their commitment to intellectual property rights and licensing practices based on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, principles.
John Han, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, said, “Qualcomm has invested in foundational wireless technologies that have enabled successive generations of mobile innovation and earned broad recognition across the global wireless industry. This agreement reaffirms industry recognition of Qualcomm’s 5G technology leadership and the success of Qualcomm’s 5G SEP licensing program.”
He added, “This agreement likewise reflects Qualcomm’s recognition of Huawei’s continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields.”
Meanwhile, Huawei Chief Intellectual Property Officer Alan Fan said, “Huawei’s decades of sustained investment in fundamental R&D have driven innovation and progress in mobile communications and other technology fields. Huawei’s broad contributions to the 4G/5G standards, such as the near-physical-limit signal transmission technology using polar codes, have established Huawei’s leadership in the mobile communications industry, and continuously transformed the way people communicate and live.”
“This agreement not only demonstrates the value of Huawei’s innovations, but also recognises Qualcomm’s foundational contributions to modern communication technologies,” he added.
Qualcomm to get access to Huawei’s LogicFolding chip technology
As reported by Bloomberg, Qualcomm has agreed to license patents underpinning Huawei’s LogicFolding chip technology as part of the wider cross-licensing agreement.
Huawei introduced LogicFolding in May 2026 as part of its Tau Scaling Law, an approach designed to improve chip performance by reducing signal propagation delay instead of relying solely on shrinking transistor sizes. Huawei says the technology shortens critical-path wiring and reduces resistance and capacitance, which can improve transistor density and circuit performance.
This matters as chipmakers face increasing technical and economic challenges in moving to smaller process nodes. Huawei has positioned LogicFolding as another way to improve performance through circuit and system-level design. Among the first Kirin chips with LogicFolding architecture is the Kirin 9050 Pro which made its debut on the Huawei Mate XT 2 tri-fold smartphone.
