Huawei, Qualcomm Sign Multi-Year Patent Cross-License; Qualcomm to Pay Huawei for LogicFolding Chip IP

Huawei announced Oct. 5, 2026, a multi-year patent cross-license agreement with Qualcomm (QCOM), its first covering 5G technology, under which Qualcomm will pay Huawei for patents — including those behind its LogicFolding chip technology. Qualcomm will also acquire certain Huawei US patents in computing, AI and networking. The deal marks the first revenue-positive patent agreement between the two. The Kirin 9050 Pro, launched in Huawei's Mate90 Pro Max, is the first system-on-chip to use LogicFolding, a "Tao's Law" architecture that trades geometric transistor shrinkage for reduced signal latency. Huawei claims key-path latency falls over 30% and interconnect bandwidth reaches 125TB/s. The approach aims to narrow the gap with TSMC as China remains cut off from ASML extreme ultraviolet lithography tools. Huawei said it has signed more than 270 patent license agreements with major global ICT vendors; total licensing revenue now exceeds $6.9 billion. The Qualcomm deal is seen as a win for Huawei's overseas AI and 5G ambitions.