Despite facing strict U.S. trade restrictions, Chinese tech giant Huawei has emerged as a formidable competitor to Nvidia, according to the American chipmaker's latest annual filing.
In its Wednesday regulatory document, Nvidia identified Huawei as a rival across multiple business segments, including semiconductors, cloud computing, processing units, and networking equipment. This marks the second consecutive year Huawei has appeared on Nvidia's competitor list, after being absent for at least three years prior.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged the intensifying competition from Chinese firms during a CNBC interview. "There's a fair amount of competition in China," Huang noted, specifically highlighting Huawei's aggressive and competitive approach.
The development comes even as Huawei remains under U.S. trade restrictions imposed in 2019, limiting its access to American technology including advanced chips and Google's Android operating system.
However, these constraints haven't stopped Huawei's growth. The company reported revenue exceeding 860 billion yuan ($118.27 billion) in 2024, marking a 22% increase from the previous year - its strongest growth since 2016.
Huawei has shown resilience by developing alternative technologies. In 2023, the company launched its Mate 60 Pro smartphone in China, featuring capabilities comparable to 5G devices. More recently, Huawei unveiled the Mate 70 series, powered by its independently developed HarmonyOS NEXT operating system.
While Huawei's consumer division was severely impacted by sanctions, generating just over half its peak 2020 revenue, the company's recent innovations and market performance suggest it remains a serious player in the global tech landscape, particularly in its home market of China.