Huawei commits $300 million annually to basic S&T research

SHENZHEN - Chinese tech giant Huawei has announced it will invest $300 million every year over the next five to ten years for funding research in basic science and technology.

Huawei establishes the Institute of Strategic Research to focus on research into cutting-edge technology, and the company will invest $300 million each year to fund academic research in basic science and technology, said William Xu, director of the Huawei board, at the annual global analyst summit at its headquarters in Shenzhen in southern China.

According to Xu, Huawei is moving into the era of "Innovation 2.0", in which the company will overcome bottlenecks in theories and basic technologies hindering the development of information and communication technology.

Xu, also president of the Huawei Institute of Strategic Research, said the establishment of the research facility would help make Innovation 2.0 a reality.

In Innovation 1.0, Xu said, the Chinese telecommunication giant focused on providing innovative products, technologies and solutions that meet customer needs.

In innovation 2.0, innovation will be steered into theories and basic technologies that can promote social progress.

Xu said Huawei is facing theoretical and engineering bottlenecks like the inevitable slowdown of Moore's Law. It says that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit double about every two years, but the rate of progress is expected to reach saturation in recent years.

He noted that universities make significant contributions in these areas and collaboration between businesses and universities can bring mutual benefits.

According to Xu, the company plans to build labs, work with industry peers and universities and make investments to drive innovation in theories and basic technologies which will inspire revolutionary changes and benefit the industry and the world.

More than 700 partner representatives, analysts and reporters attended Huawei's annual analyst summit that will wrap up Thursday.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, privately-owned Huawei is a world-leading telecommunication solution provider and also one of the world's major smartphone brands.