Huawei and Qualcomm Expand Patent Ties Across 5G, AI

Key Points

1. Huawei and Qualcomm signed a multi-year cross-licensing agreement spanning 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking technologies.
2. Qualcomm will acquire certain Huawei US patents, while the broader transaction awaits necessary regulatory approvals.
3. The deal links two major patent portfolios as global standards collide with sharpening US-China technology competition.

The latest

Huawei and Qualcomm have deepened their technology relationship through a multi-year patent agreement covering their respective portfolios in 5G, computing, artificial intelligence, networking and other fields. The companies will cross-license technologies, while Qualcomm will acquire certain US patents from Huawei related to computing, AI and networking. Huawei said the terms follow fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing principles, known as FRAND. The acquisition and broader transaction remain subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

Details

• Huawei’s portfolio: At the end of 2025, Huawei held approximately 165,000 active patents worldwide and had completed more than 260 licensing and cross-licensing agreements. It invested about $27.5 billion in research and development during the year, equal to 21.8% of annual revenue.
• Qualcomm’s scale: Qualcomm has more than 200,000 issued and pending patents across over 100 countries and territories. Its licensing operation encompasses more than 200 agreements involving 5G and more than 300 licensing agreements overall, reinforcing patents as a central commercial asset.
• Standards economics: 5G and other telecommunications standards incorporate thousands of patented inventions. Standard-essential patents are required to implement particular technical standards, meaning makers of compatible smartphones, network equipment and connected devices need access to them. FRAND terms balance that access with returns on research spending.
• Qualcomm’s position: John Han, executive vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, said the company had invested in fundamental wireless technologies enabling successive generations of mobile innovation. He said the agreement recognized Qualcomm’s 5G leadership and the performance of its standard-essential patent licensing program.
• Converging sectors: Including AI and computing broadens the agreement beyond wireless technology. AI systems depend on advanced chips and computing infrastructure as well as high-speed networks that move large data volumes among devices, cloud platforms and data centers, increasingly connecting telecommunications, semiconductors, cloud computing and AI.
• Strategic setting: Huawei has increased investment in domestic technology development amid restrictions on access to some advanced foreign technologies. The deal pairs a major Chinese technology group with a leading US semiconductor and wireless company even as Washington has sought to constrain China’s access to advanced semiconductor and telecommunications technologies.

Background

Patent licensing allows technology companies to compete in products while granting one another access to protected inventions. The World Intellectual Property Organization has highlighted licensing frameworks as supporting interoperability, competition and innovation in industries built on common standards. Such portfolios can generate revenue, facilitate partnerships and provide access to competitors’ technologies.

What’s next

Regulatory approvals are the next concrete milestone before Qualcomm’s acquisition of the specified Huawei US patents and the wider transaction can proceed. The companies’ implementation of the multi-year cross-licensing framework will then determine how the arrangement operates across the covered 5G, computing, AI and networking portfolios.