【Epoch Times, May 27, 2026】- Chinese tech giant Huawei announced on Monday, May 25th, that it will introduce a new 1.4-nanometer ultra-thin chip using the innovative “LogicFolding” technology by 2031. This chip will be applied in its Kirin smartphone processors. However, overseas experts have expressed doubts about this development, stating that while Huawei has presented an alternative solution to bridge the gap in process nodes, it does not necessarily mean that they have caught up with the pace of Intel and TSMC.
Huawei has been touting its advancements in the semiconductor field, including a concept known as the “Tau Scaling Law,” positioning it as the successor to Moore’s Law. Yet, a chip expert cited by The Register pointed out that this announcement leans more towards branding and marketing rather than a true technological breakthrough.
The revelation of these advancements was made by Huawei at the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) in Shanghai by their semiconductor division president, He Tingbo.
He Tingbo explained during her speech that with Moore’s Law facing diminishing returns, she proposed the “Tau Scaling Law” as a new approach. To illustrate the operating mechanism of “Tau scaling,” she introduced the “LogicFolding” technology as Huawei’s developed solution, based on the concept of “Free Logic Design” to transition from single-layer to double-layer configurations.
According to Huawei, the high-end chips built on the “Tau Scaling Law” are expected to achieve transistor density equivalent to a 14A (1.4-nanometer) manufacturing process by 2031.
However, Manoj Sukumaran, a senior chief analyst at the renowned technology market research and consulting firm Omdia, poured cold water on Huawei’s claim in an interview with The Register. He emphasized that Huawei’s approach does not involve mastering the 14A process node technology; instead, it relies on stacking logic dies using a hybrid bonding technique. He highlighted that this density increase is not due to transistor miniaturization but clever packaging technology, setting it apart from the 1.4-nanometer transistors at TSMC or Intel.
Both TSMC and Intel maintain a significant lead in the 14A and 18A process nodes, with their hybrid bonding roadmaps advancing steadily. Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, recently disclosed plans to introduce 14A chip manufacturing by 2028 and begin mass production in 2029, aligning closely with TSMC’s research and production timeline.
Sukumaran added that Huawei’s claimed performance improvements (approximately 12.7% performance enhancement and 41% energy efficiency boost) may be genuine, but these enhancements are likely due to shortened interconnects and clock tree paths rather than transistor improvements. He also noted Huawei’s silence on leakage issues.
Due to national security concerns, the US government’s blacklisting of Huawei in 2019 has deprived the company of access to advanced semiconductor technology, resulting in Huawei losing most of the necessary technology for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors, including crucial lithography equipment.
Sukumaran further commented, “Their alternative solution to address the technological gap caused by sanctions, while clever, comes at a hefty cost. However, this solution has limitations; with each additional layer stacked, the marginal returns diminish.”
The Futurum Group, a global research and consulting firm focusing on high-tech industries, expressed in a May 26 article that TSMC and Intel will continue their leading edge in process nodes within the forecast period. Their respective hybrid bonding roadmaps are advancing, while Huawei’s architectural advantage relies on immature toolchains and ecosystems. The verification pending is whether Huawei can extend this method to all its product lines and build the necessary software and design tools.
The article mentioned that Huawei’s Tau framework faces two major challenges. Firstly, the tools needed to design stacked layers as a single continuous surface require fundamentally different tools that are currently nonexistent at the scale Huawei envisions, necessitating several years for infrastructure construction and extensive industry involvement. Secondly, geopolitical factors pose obstacles as the US export restrictions that prompted Huawei to develop this method also restrict its collaboration with Western tool suppliers, IP suppliers, and foundry partners crucial for global expansion. The real risk lies in Tau extension technology being incompatible or unusable within the supply chains of TSMC-Intel-Nvidia, accelerating the global differentiation of semiconductor infrastructure rather than bridging the gap.
Regarding Huawei’s claim of a chip breakthrough ahead of schedule in 2031, Chris Miller, author of “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology,” advised The Daily Upside, “We shouldn’t believe it until we see it with our own eyes.”