Revenue for HiSilicon, Huawei Technologies’ chip design unit, doubled last year owing to the telecoms equipment giant’s comeback in the high-end smartphone market, although its long-term growth still faces challenges, according to Counterpoint Research.
HiSilicon’s “strong and loyal customer base in China” helped revenue jump 100 per cent in 2024, according to a report published last week. Its market share also grew on the popularity of its Pura 70 and Mate 70 series smartphones, Counterpoint analyst Akash Jatwala wrote.
HiSilicon last year captured 12 per cent of the global premium Android smartphone system-on-a-chip market, up from 8 per cent in 2023, Counterpoint said. The market is largely dominated by US-based Qualcomm, which held 59 per cent of the market last year, ahead of South Korea-based Samsung Electronics, which had 13 per cent.
Huawei’s chip unit is likely to retain its third-place position this year, according to Counterpoint.
Amid Huawei’s success in designing its own chips, other Chinese tech firms have sought to do the same, including rival Xiaomi. The Beijing-based company is launching its smartphone chipset Xring O1 later this month, founder and CEO Lei Jun said in a post on Weibo on Thursday, without sharing any details.
HiSilicon’s growth reflects US-sanctioned Huawei’s continued progress, despite intense scrutiny from Washington. US President Donald Trump added Huawei to a trade blacklist in May 2019, during his first term, blocking the Chinese tech giant from doing business with American firms without government approval. In 2020, he escalated those measures with a ban that effectively cut off Huawei’s chip supplies.
