[News] Inside Huawei’s Patent Playbook: GPU Dominance and Sub-2nm Ambitions Under Sanctions

As China accelerates its push for semiconductor self-sufficiency, all eyes are on how leading tech firms are advancing cutting-edge technologies under U.S. sanctions, with Huawei clearly at the forefront. According to Nikkei, the Chinese chip giant has dramatically ramped up GPU-related patent filings in recent years while also venturing into sub-2nm technologies, including EUV and advanced lithography, as per data from the Japanese patent research tool Patentfield (Kyoto).

GPU Patents Surge as AI Chip Race Intensifies

The report, citing data from Patentfield, points out that over the five years ending 2023, Huawei’s GPU-related patent filings grew tenfold, outpacing NVIDIA and Intel. In 2023 alone, Huawei filed 3,091 patents—about 10 times its 2018 total, 3 times Intel’s, and 5 times NVIDIA’s—highlighting its rapid advance in GPU technology, as per Nikkei.

Earlier in September, Huawei has unveiled a multi-year roadmap for its Ascend AI chips, with steady releases planned through 2028. According to Mydrivers, the rollout will start with the Ascend 950PR in Q1 2026 and the 950DT in Q4 2026, followed by the Ascend 960 in Q4 2027 and the Ascend 970 in Q4 2028. Among these, a key feature of the 950 chip is Huawei’s self-developed HBM.

Nikkei notes that Samsung Electronics has also ramped up GPU-related patents in recent years, likely fueled by its HBM development for AI data-center workloads. Searches using the combined keywords “GPU + HBM” show the surge began around five years ago. According to Patentfield, Samsung’s GPU+HBM filings remained above 400 in 2023 and 2024, compared with around 300 for NVIDIA.

Dive into Sub-2nm Chipmaking

Notably, as Nikkei suggests, Huawei’s filings also reveal a push into post-2nm semiconductor technology. Searching for patents with the “Gate-all-around” transistor keyword—used in nodes beyond 2nm—shows Huawei submitted 20 patents in 2023, the report adds.

Interestingly, the report notes that Huawei has filed patents covering “CFET” (Complementary FET) and “Transistor”), with CFET enabling 1nm and below nodes through vertically stacked transistors rather than just miniaturization. The filings also feature “EUV” and “Lithography”, reflecting Huawei’s push to advance cutting-edge tech despite U.S. sanctions blocking imports, the report says.

Among these patents, South China Morning Post points to a notable Huawei filing from September 2021—made public last year—that outlines the use of SAQP (Self-Aligned Quadruple Patterning) to “enhance design flexibility of circuit patterns.”

Separately, the report highlights a three-year-old Huawei patent for advanced patterning that is said to reach 2nm-class capabilities without EUV lithography. Under U.S. sanctions, Huawei is seeking a metal-integration method that allows ultra-narrow metal structures to be produced with DUV tools, even at pitches below 21nm—an essential threshold for 2nm-class chips, the report adds.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)