HiSilicon

HiSilicon is a Shenzhen-based fabless semiconductor company wholly owned by Huawei. It designs integrated circuits rather than operating a large independent wafer-fabrication business, and its products are principally integrated into Huawei smartphones, tablets, networking equipment, data-center systems, wearables, cameras, and other connected devices. The company developed from Huawei's earlier ASIC design activities, which began in 1991, and was formally established as Shenzhen HiSilicon Semiconductor Co., Ltd. in 2004. A Shanghai-based wholly owned subsidiary was established in 2019. The business has operated across several important semiconductor categories. Its best-known consumer line is the Kirin family of application processors and system-on-chip products for Huawei and Honor mobile devices. These chips combine ARM-based CPU designs with graphics, image-processing, security, connectivity, and increasingly dedicated artificial-intelligence functions. HiSilicon's Balong family covers cellular modem and baseband technology, progressing from LTE products to multimode 5G solutions. The company has also designed Kunpeng server processors, Ascend AI processors and accelerators, Kirin wearable chips, networking and communications silicon, surveillance and camera processors, and other application-specific integrated circuits. HiSilicon's technology model has historically combined in-house design with licensed intellectual property. Its processors have used licensed ARM CPU and Mali graphics technologies, while some products have incorporated third-party graphics or accelerator IP. Fabrication has generally been outsourced to foundries, including TSMC for earlier generations. This fabless structure allowed HiSilicon to concentrate on architecture, chip design, software integration, and product-specific optimization for Huawei's hardware ecosystem. The company became one of China's most prominent domestic integrated-circuit designers through the growth of Huawei's handset and telecommunications businesses. Products such as the Kirin 960, Kirin 970, Kirin 980, Kirin 990, Kirin 9000, and Balong 5000 helped Huawei compete on processor performance, imaging, artificial intelligence, and 5G integration. HiSilicon's close relationship with Huawei also meant that its commercial visibility was strongly tied to the parent company's device launches rather than to an independent merchant-chip business. U.S. export-control measures introduced in 2020 materially disrupted HiSilicon's access to manufacturing capacity and technology. Rules extended licensing requirements to certain foreign foundries using U.S. technology, affecting the supply chain used for Huawei-designed chips. Huawei subsequently said that it would stop producing new Kirin chipsets from September 15, 2020, and HiSilicon's access to advanced external fabrication became a central issue in the company's development. Huawei's 2023 announcement of the Mate 60 Pro, using the Kirin 9000S, marked a major turning point. Public reporting identified the chip as being manufactured in China by SMIC using a 7 nm-class process. Later Kirin 9000-series variants were used in additional Huawei devices, including the Pura 70 family and tablets. These developments demonstrated continued domestic chip-design and manufacturing efforts, although detailed production capabilities, yields, suppliers, and commercial economics are not fully disclosed publicly. HiSilicon remains primarily an internal technology and component brand within Huawei. Its strategic role is to support Huawei's hardware, operating-system, cloud, communications, and AI ecosystem while reducing dependence on external chip suppliers. Because Huawei does not publish a separate full financial report for HiSilicon, standalone revenue, profitability, valuation, and market share are not reliably available.

HiSilicon's roots lie in Huawei's ASIC design center, established in 1991 to create application-specific chips for telecommunications equipment. Huawei formally registered Shenzhen HiSilicon Semiconductor Co., Ltd. in 2004, turning the internal design capability into a dedicated semiconductor company. The business adopted a fabless model, relying on external foundries while building expertise in chip architecture, physical design, verification, software support, and system integration. Its early public profile was built through Huawei handset processors. The K3V2, based on ARM Cortex-A9 technology and paired with a Vivante graphics core, appeared in Huawei's Ascend D Quad XL and MediaPad products. Subsequent Kirin generations expanded the range from entry and mid-tier smartphone chips to increasingly sophisticated flagship SoCs. The Kirin 950 and 960 generations strengthened multimedia, storage, image-processing, and CPU performance, while the Kirin 970 added a dedicated neural-processing unit. The Kirin 980 moved to a 7 nm process and became an important milestone in advanced mobile-chip design. Later Kirin 990 products integrated 5G, and the Kirin 9000 family combined advanced mobile CPU and GPU configurations with Huawei's Da Vinci AI architecture and Balong connectivity. In parallel, HiSilicon developed the Balong modem family. Balong products progressed through LTE generations before the Balong 5000, announced in 2019, combined 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G capabilities and supported both standalone and non-standalone 5G modes. The company also expanded into server computing with Hi1610 and Hi1612 processors, followed by Kunpeng-branded server CPUs such as the Kunpeng 916 and Kunpeng 920. These chips were designed for Huawei TaiShan servers and helped establish an ARM-based alternative in Huawei's enterprise hardware portfolio. HiSilicon's scope broadened further into AI, cameras, networking, and wearables. Ascend products addressed AI inference and training workloads, while Kirin A-series chips targeted true-wireless audio and other low-power devices. Camera and video-processing products supported Huawei's broader imaging and surveillance-related activities. This portfolio reflected HiSilicon's role as a platform supplier within Huawei rather than a narrowly focused mobile-chip vendor. The company's supply chain changed fundamentally after U.S. restrictions in 2020. Because HiSilicon depended on advanced overseas manufacturing and technology inputs, the new licensing regime constrained its ability to have leading-edge designs produced at scale. Huawei announced that Kirin production would stop from September 15 of that year. The disruption reduced the continuity of flagship Kirin launches and increased the strategic importance of domestic manufacturing, alternative suppliers, and in-house design. A new phase became visible in 2023, when Huawei introduced the Mate 60 Pro with the Kirin 9000S. Public technical analyses associated the chip with SMIC's 7 nm-class domestic process and identified custom HiSilicon processor technology alongside ARM-based components. Kirin 9000S1 and Kirin 9010 variants subsequently appeared in Huawei products, including the Pura 70 family, while related chips served tablet and computer products. The public record does not provide complete information about HiSilicon's production volumes, costs, yields, or standalone financial performance, but the product releases indicate an ongoing effort to rebuild a broad Huawei-centered semiconductor platform under export-control pressure.

1. 2024Kirin 9010 appears in Huawei Pura 70 products

   The Kirin 9010 and related Kirin 9000-series variants were used in Huawei's Pura 70 generation of devices.

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2. 2023Kirin 9000S debuts in Huawei Mate 60 Pro

   Huawei introduced the Mate 60 Pro with the Kirin 9000S, signaling a renewed domestically manufactured smartphone-chip effort.

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3. 2020Export controls interrupt advanced chip supply

   U.S. rules restricted the ability of certain foreign manufacturers using U.S. technology to supply HiSilicon, prompting Huawei to suspend new Kirin production.

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4. 2019Balong 5000 and Kirin 980 generation

   The Balong 5000 brought integrated multimode 5G capability, while the Kirin 980 represented HiSilicon's move into 7 nm mobile SoCs.

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5. 2018Kunpeng 920 announced

   HiSilicon announced the Kunpeng 920 server processor, using custom TaiShan cores and targeting Huawei's enterprise server systems.

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6. 2016Kirin 960 receives performance recognition

   Android Authority included the Kirin 960 among its notable Android processors of 2016 for performance.

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7. 2015First HiSilicon server processor announced

   HiSilicon announced the Hi1610, its first-generation ARM-based server processor.

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8. 2012Balong 710 introduced

   HiSilicon presented the Balong 710 LTE chipset at Mobile World Congress, extending its modem portfolio beyond application processors.

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9. 2004HiSilicon formally established

   Shenzhen HiSilicon Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was registered and formally established as Huawei's dedicated semiconductor design company.

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10. 1991Huawei ASIC design center established

    Huawei established the ASIC design activity that later formed the technological foundation of HiSilicon.

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A high-end, vertically coordinated semiconductor design business supporting Huawei's device, communications, cloud, and AI ecosystem, with strategic emphasis on domestic technology capability and supply-chain resilience.

• KirinMobile application processors2012

  Kirin is HiSilicon's principal family of smartphone and tablet system-on-chip products. Generations have combined ARM-based CPU cores, Mali or other graphics technology, image signal processing, security functions, memory and storage controllers, and dedicated AI hardware. Flagship generations include the Kirin 950, 960, 970, 980, 990, and 9000 families. They were used predominantly in Huawei and Honor devices.

• BalongCellular modems and baseband chipsets2012

  Balong is HiSilicon's modem and cellular-connectivity portfolio. It developed from LTE products such as the Balong 710, 720, 750, and 765 into the Balong 5000, which supported multimode 2G through 5G connectivity and both standalone and non-standalone 5G architectures. Balong technology has been integrated into Huawei phones, tablets, routers, and other communications products.

• AscendArtificial-intelligence processors2018

  Ascend is Huawei and HiSilicon's AI-computing portfolio. It includes processors and accelerator platforms intended for inference, training, cloud computing, and edge applications. Mobile Kirin chips also adopted related Da Vinci neural-processing technology, linking consumer-device AI features with Huawei's broader computing ecosystem.

• KunpengServer processors2017

  Kunpeng is HiSilicon's ARM-based server CPU family. The line followed the Hi1610 and Hi1612 processors and included the Kunpeng 916 and Kunpeng 920. These processors were developed for Huawei TaiShan servers and related enterprise systems, with custom TaiShan CPU cores in later generations.

• Kirin A1Wearable and audio SoCs2019

  Announced in 2019, the Kirin A1 is a low-power chip for true-wireless audio and wearable applications. It supports Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy functions and was designed to manage wireless audio, communications, and embedded processing in devices such as earbuds and related accessories.

• Kirin 9000SMobile application processors2023

  The Kirin 9000S is a flagship-class SoC introduced in Huawei's Mate 60 Pro generation in 2023. Public analyses linked it to domestic SMIC manufacturing and identified custom HiSilicon CPU technology alongside ARM-based components and Da Vinci AI hardware. Its release became a symbol of Huawei's attempt to restore advanced mobile-chip production under export restrictions.

• 2023Reintroduce a flagship Kirin platform with the Kirin 9000SProduct launch

  After the 2020 supply-chain disruption, Huawei needed a new mobile platform for its premium devices.

  What changed. Huawei launched the Mate 60 Pro with the Kirin 9000S, widely reported as a domestically manufactured 7 nm-class chip.

  Aftermath. The launch marked the return of a prominent Kirin platform and intensified attention on China's domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability.

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• 2020Suspend new Kirin chipset productionStrategy

  U.S. export-control changes restricted the ability of overseas foundries using certain U.S. technology to manufacture chips designed by HiSilicon for Huawei.

  What changed. Huawei announced that production of new Kirin chipsets would stop from September 15, 2020, while HiSilicon and Huawei shifted toward supply-chain alternatives and domestic semiconductor capabilities.

  Aftermath. The interruption constrained Huawei's flagship smartphone-chip roadmap and increased the strategic importance of domestic manufacturing, culminating in later Kirin 9000-series releases.

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• 2023Huawei introduces devices using the Kirin 9000S

  Huawei announced the Mate 60 Pro using the Kirin 9000S, a chip widely reported as being manufactured in China by SMIC on a 7 nm-class process. The launch highlighted Huawei and HiSilicon's renewed domestic semiconductor effort.

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• 2020U.S. export-control rules disrupt Huawei and HiSilicon chip supply

  The United States expanded export-control requirements affecting foreign manufacturers that use certain U.S. technology to produce chips for Huawei and HiSilicon. Huawei said it would stop producing Kirin chipsets from September 15, 2020.

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• 2019HiSilicon establishes Shanghai subsidiary

  Huawei established Shanghai HiSilicon as a wholly owned subsidiary, expanding the organizational footprint of its semiconductor operations.

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1. HiSilicon
2. HiSilicon official website