Huawei hit hard by sanctions
TSMC, the world's leading chip manufacturer, commented on the potential threat posed by Huawei's recent advances in chip development. Citing the technology gap and US export restrictions, TSMC executives expressed confidence in maintaining their market dominance.
Chairman Mark Liu responded to a shareholder question about Huawei and other competitors by saying: «TSMC looks at each competitor very carefully. We will always have competitors. But this has nothing to do with Huawei».
He downplayed the threat from Huawei, saying it and China were far behind. TSMC President Wei Zhejia also stated that it is «impossible for Huawei to catch up with their chip production technology».
Huawei is particularly impacted by U.S. government sanctions that limit its access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment. And while TSMC plans to start producing 2nm chips by next year, Huawei is still working with 7nm technology, and is rumored to only be planning to introduce a 5nm SoC.
Huawei, which was blacklisted by the US in 2019, has attempted to make a comeback with the Mate 60 Pro and new Kirin 5G processors. However, their 7nm technology puts them at a disadvantage in terms of performance and efficiency compared to the latest offerings from other chip makers.