Huawei and Qualcomm sign broad patent licensing deal covering 5G, AI and networking
Version 2: New reports add executive statements from both companies, details of earlier licensing payments including the 2020 dispute, Huawei's statement that the deal involves no other business cooperation, and an account of the technologies covered, while confirming the transaction awaits regulatory approval and that the financial terms were not disclosed.
In short
Huawei and Qualcomm announced a multi-year, broad patent licensing agreement that cross-licenses their portfolios in 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking, with Qualcomm also acquiring some of Huawei's US patents in those fields. Jiemian, cnBeta and Huxiu reported the transaction will close after necessary regulatory approvals; Huawei said it involves no other business cooperation and the amount was not disclosed. cnBeta and Huxiu reported that Qualcomm will pay Huawei under the arrangement, with Huxiu saying Qualcomm becomes the net payer in a cross-licensing deal for the first time.
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Huawei and Qualcomm announced a long-term, broad patent licensing agreement covering cross-licensing of their patent portfolios in 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking, according to IT Home, CLS, 36Kr and Jiemian. Under the deal, Qualcomm will acquire some of Huawei's US patents in computing, artificial intelligence, networking and other technology fields. IT Home and cnBeta reported it is the first licensing agreement between the two companies to cover 5G technology. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Jiemian, cnBeta and Huxiu reported the transaction will be completed after obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. cnBeta, citing the South China Morning Post, and Huxiu said Huawei stated the deal does not involve other business cooperation and that the transaction amount was not disclosed; Huxiu added that the royalty rates and the specific patent list were also not disclosed. [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]
cnBeta carried statements from both sides. Qualcomm executive vice president and general manager of technology licensing John Han said the agreement reflects Qualcomm's recognition of Huawei's continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields, and reaffirms recognition of Qualcomm's 5G leadership and its 5G standard-essential patent licensing programme. Huawei chief intellectual property officer Fan Zhiyong said Huawei has invested in fundamental research and development for decades and made broad contributions to 4G and 5G standards, including polar codes and signal transmission technology approaching physical limits. Both announcements said the agreement reflects the two companies' commitment to intellectual property and to licensing on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. [ 6 ]
The companies have licensed patents to each other before. Huxiu reported that in 2001 Huawei signed a CDMA commercial licence agreement with Qualcomm and paid it licensing fees for the first time, and that in 2020 they resolved an earlier patent dispute with a new long-term licence under which Qualcomm confirmed about $1.8 billion of revenue from Huawei. These will be payments under a cross-licensing arrangement, Huxiu reported, and cnBeta described the new agreement as Huawei's first with Qualcomm in which licensing revenue turns positive. [ 6 , 8 ]
Huawei said the cumulative total of all its patent licensing agreements is expected to exceed $6.9 billion after the transaction completes, a figure the documents say is the total value of its licence agreements rather than the amount Qualcomm pays. cnBeta reported Huawei's supplementary material saying cumulative R&D spending from 2007 to the end of 2025 exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan, while Huxiu put 2025 R&D spending at 192.3 billion yuan, or 21.8% of revenue, and the past decade's cumulative spending at more than 1.38 trillion yuan. cnBeta said Huawei held more than 165,000 valid granted patents worldwide at the end of 2025, over 90% of them invention patents, and more than 30,000 granted US patents; the documents gave different counts of its licensing agreements, with cnBeta saying more than 270 and Huxiu more than 260. [ 1 , 6 , 8 ]
Huxiu, citing Bloomberg, said the agreement covers 5G devices, AI services, near-packaged optics, co-packaged optics and networking, and that Qualcomm will also obtain a licence to Huawei's LogicFolding chip architecture patents, which Huawei disclosed this year and which the Kirin 9050 Pro already uses. Huxiu said that with Huawei's access to some advanced chips, equipment and software narrowing in international markets, patent assets can still generate returns through licensing, cross-licensing and patent sales, and that the two companies increasingly need to price each other's technology even as they compete on products and their supply-chain relationship has changed. [ 8 ]
Why it matters
The deal links two of the largest patent holders in 5G, computing and AI, fields where licensing terms shape what device, network and chip makers pay. For Huawei, IT Home and Huxiu reported the agreement adds to an intellectual property licensing business that has generated positive revenue since 2021, at a time when the documents say its access to some advanced chips, equipment and software in international markets has narrowed. Huxiu said the two companies continue to compete on products and their supply-chain relationship has changed greatly, but at the level of intellectual property they increasingly need to price each other's technology.
Key facts
- Huawei and Qualcomm announced a long-term, broad patent licensing agreement covering cross-licensing of their patent portfolios in 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Qualcomm will acquire some of Huawei's US patents in computing, artificial intelligence, networking and other technology areas. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Jiemian, cnBeta and Huxiu reported the transaction will be completed after obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Huawei said the transaction does not involve other business cooperation; the deal amount, royalty rates and specific patent list were not disclosed, according to cnBeta and Huxiu. [ 6 , 8 ]
- IT Home and cnBeta reported the agreement is the first between Huawei and Qualcomm to cover 5G technology. [ 1 , 6 ]
- Huawei said that after the transaction completes, the cumulative total of all its patent licensing agreements is expected to exceed $6.9 billion, a figure it described as the total value of its licence agreements rather than the amount Qualcomm pays. [ 1 , 6 , 8 ]
- Huawei said its intellectual property licensing business has generated positive revenue since 2021. [ 1 , 8 ]
- cnBeta reported Huawei had more than 165,000 valid granted patents worldwide at the end of 2025, over 90% of them invention patents, and more than 30,000 granted US patents. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Huawei and Qualcomm announced a multi-year, broad patent licensing agreement covering 5G, computing, artificial intelligence and networking. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- The agreement includes cross-licensing of the two companies' patent portfolios and Qualcomm's acquisition of some of Huawei's US patents in computing, artificial intelligence, networking and other technology fields. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- The transaction will be completed after obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Huawei said the transaction does not involve other business cooperation, and the amount was not disclosed. [ 6 , 8 ]
- The agreement is the first between Huawei and Qualcomm to cover 5G technology. [ 1 , 6 ]
- Huawei said its intellectual property licensing business has generated positive revenue since 2021. [ 1 , 8 ]
- Huawei said the cumulative total of all its patent licensing agreements is expected to exceed $6.9 billion after the deal completes, which the documents say is the total value of its licence agreements, not the Qualcomm transaction amount. [ 1 , 6 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- The financial terms of the Qualcomm transaction, including the amount, royalty rates and the specific patent list. cnBeta and Huxiu said the amount was not disclosed, and Huxiu said the royalty rates and patent list were also not disclosed; no document gives a value for the Qualcomm deal itself.
- Whether Qualcomm becomes the net payer to Huawei under the cross-licence, and cnBeta's description of the deal as Huawei's first with Qualcomm in which licensing revenue turns positive. Huxiu reported the net-payer point citing Bloomberg, and cnBeta alone described the agreement as a first in which revenue turns positive; no other document states the payment direction.
- Whether the licence covers near-packaged optics, co-packaged optics and Huawei's LogicFolding chip architecture patents. Only Huxiu, citing Bloomberg, lists these specific technologies; the other documents describe the fields only as 5G, computing, artificial intelligence, networking and other areas.
- Huawei's total number of licensing agreements and its cumulative research and development spending. cnBeta says more than 270 licensing agreements and over 1.8 trillion yuan of R&D spending from 2007 to the end of 2025, while Huxiu says more than 260 agreements and over 1.38 trillion yuan over the past decade; the documents use different periods and counts.
- The date the agreement takes effect or closes. The documents say only that it is long-term or multi-year and subject to necessary regulatory approval.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- IT Home publishes a detailed report including Huawei's statement that its cumulative patent licensing agreements are expected to exceed $6.9 billion after the deal closes. [ 1 ]
- CLS reports the agreement and its cross-licensing and US patent acquisition terms. [ 2 ]
- 36Kr reports the agreement, citing CLS. [ 3 ]
- Yicai reports the agreement. [ 4 ]
- Jiemian reports the deal, citing Huawei's official website and noting it will complete after necessary regulatory approvals. [ 5 ]
- cnBeta publishes executive statements from both companies, Huawei's patent figures and its statement that the deal involves no other business cooperation. [ 6 ]
- Yicai lists the agreement again in a technology news round-up. [ 7 ]
- Huxiu publishes an analysis with the earlier licensing history, the net-payer point and Bloomberg-reported technology scope. [ 8 ]