Huawei and ST are collaborating on auto and smartphone IC development, according to the Nikkei.
The co-operation is said to be aimed at accelerating Huawei’s ADAS development.
Huawei’s chip subsidiary Hi Silicon is far ahead of ST on mobile phone chips because ST gave up that sector when it shuttered its mobile chip subsidiary, ST-Ericsson, in 2013.
It is expected that the US will require permission from companies using US chip manufacturing equipment if they want to sell chips made on that equipment to Huawei.
This would stop Huawei’s foundry partners like TSMC and Samsung making chips for Huawei.
It is thought that by co-developing chips with ST, Huawei could get round a possible denial of its access to foundries.
It is also thought that the partnership is designed to get round US restrictions on Huawei’s access to leading US CAD software. Huawei is already blocked from getting the latest upgrades from Cadence and Synopsys.
Source: electronicsweekly
