Huawei increases investment in chipmaking as US sanctions bite
Huawei steps up involvement in semiconductor industry with investment in Chinese company engaged in production of major component for chipmaking equipment, as Chinese tech giant grapples with shortages of chips caused by US sanctions.
Hubble Technology Investment, the 100% Huawei-owned venture capital arm, recently invested in Beijing RSLaser Opto-Electronics Technology, which focuses on producing light source systems for chipmaking machines, according to the supplier. Tianyancha business data.
The deal allows Huawei to become RSlaser’s seventh shareholder with a 4.8% stake, according to Tianyancha. The Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the major shareholder of RSlaser. It has a 26.6% stake.
Since its inception in 2019, Hubble Technology Investment has been involved in 33 transactions involving a variety of industries ranging from automation software to industrial chemicals, according to financial data provider PitchBook.
The investment comes as Huawei works to soften the effect of U.S. sanctions that have blocked its access to handset chips made with U.S. technology. Largely because of the US tech ban, Huawei suffered a sharp contraction in smartphone sales from the second half of last year.
Chinese contract chip makers mainly use overseas-made equipment to produce chips. In March, China’s largest chipmaker SMIC extended its contract with Dutch company ASML to continue purchasing the latter’s lesser-tech chipmaking machines until the end of the year as the maker of Shanghai-based chips were struggling to meet customer demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The United States has pressured ASML to stop selling its high-tech hardware to China as part of a larger effort to curb Beijing’s ambition to expand its chip business.
Contact reporter Ding Yi ([email protected]) and editor Heather Mowbray ([email protected])
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