TL;DR
- Patent Deal: Huawei and Qualcomm will let each other use 5G and AI patents under a multi-year cross-license.
- Patent Purchase: Qualcomm will also buy selected Huawei U.S. patents, with the transaction’s closing subject to regulatory approvals.
- Chip Technology: Huawei says the deal includes LogicFolding, its chip-design approach aimed at improving data transmission.
- Payment Terms: Prices and royalty terms remain undisclosed, leaving the balance of licensing payments unclear.
Technology company Huawei and chip designer Qualcomm have agreed to let each other use patented technologies spanning 5G, AI, computing and networking. Qualcomm would also take ownership of selected Huawei U.S. patents. Huawei said on October 5, 2026, that closing depends on regulatory approvals.
Patent Use and Ownership
Under the cross-license, each company agrees to give the other permission to use inventions in its patent portfolio. A patent license leaves ownership with the patent holder, while a sale transfers ownership of the acquired rights. Under the purchase portion, Huawei would transfer the selected U.S. patents to Qualcomm once the transaction closes.
The purchase covers U.S. patents in computing, AI, networking and other fields. The companies have not disclosed the individual patents, the cross-license’s effective date or the number of years covered by the multi-year agreement.
In July 2020, Qualcomm entered a long-term global patent license with Huawei, including a license for Qualcomm to use certain Huawei patents.
Huawei’s Reported Chip Technology
Bloomberg, citing a Huawei spokesperson, reported that the agreement includes patents behind LogicFolding, Huawei’s chipmaking approach. The spokesperson also identified optical technologies among the licensed fields.
Huawei presents faster data transmission as a way to improve chip performance while its access to advanced foreign chipmaking technology is restricted.
Royalties and Purchase Payments
Huawei expects the combined contract value of all its patent-licensing agreements to exceed $6.9 billion after the Qualcomm deal, its spokesperson told Bloomberg. The price of this agreement, the purchase price of the U.S. patents and the royalty rates have not been disclosed.
If approved, the cross-license would make Qualcomm the net payer for the first time. That would mean Qualcomm pays Huawei more than Huawei pays Qualcomm.
Industry analyst Anshel Sag questioned reports of Qualcomm paying licensing fees to Huawei. He pointed instead to the announced patent purchase. Sag also challenged the LogicFolding account because the official statements did not name that technology.
So, @Qualcomm and @Huawei signed a patent licensing deal. A pretty significant one for both companies and the industry. However, we’ve seen mentions of Qualcomm paying Huawei for licenses (which is not true) and of Qualcomm licensing LogicFolding (which is also not mentioned…
— Anshel Sag (@anshelsag) October 5, 2026