Qualcomm and Huawei sign multi-year patent license spanning 5G, compute, AI, and networking technologies; financial terms undisclosed.

Qualcomm and Huawei have announced a multi-year patent license agreement covering 5G, compute, AI, and networking technologies. Under the deal, Qualcomm will purchase "certain US patents" from Huawei across these technology areas.

The financial terms remain undisclosed, and no closure timeline has been specified. The transaction will close following receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. Upon completion, the agreement is expected to bring Huawei's total patent licensing agreement value to more than $6.9 billion.

"Qualcomm has invested in foundational wireless technologies that have enabled successive generations of mobile innovation and earned broad recognition across the global wireless industry," said John Han, EVP and GM of Qualcomm technology licensing. "This agreement reaffirms industry recognition of Qualcomm's 5G technology leadership and the success of Qualcomm's 5G SEP licensing program … [and] likewise reflects Qualcomm's recognition of Huawei's continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields."

Alan Fan, Huawei's chief intellectual property officer, stated: "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 recognizes Qualcomm's foundational contributions to modern communication technologies."

The announcement arrives two years after the US government revoked certain export licenses held by Intel and Qualcomm, which had permitted the companies to supply Huawei with specific semiconductors. Qualcomm had previously obtained a US government license in 2020 to sell older 4G chips to Huawei.

Huawei has been barred from supplying equipment to the US government since the Defense Authorization Act of 2018, citing the company's close ties to the Chinese government. A broader import ban followed, and in 2020, President Donald Trump signed legislation preventing US rural telecom carriers from purchasing Huawei network equipment.