A Canadian research firm called TechInsights took a closer look at one of Huawei’s artificial intelligence accelerators and discovered a chip manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Bloomberg spoke to several people familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity because the TechInsights report is publicly available.
Anonymous sources said that a TechInsights investigation revealed that one of Huawei’s AI accelerators is equipped with an Ascend 910B chip made by TSMC. The company that conducted the survey declined to comment.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed additional trade restrictions on Huawei, barring electronics companies from acquiring chips made by foreign companies. Earlier this year, the U.S. government further tightened regulations, revoking Intel and Qualcomm’s licenses to manufacture chips for devices.
In a statement submitted to the Department of Commerce, TSMC denied that it had been working with Huawei since mid-September 2020. TSMC also told Bloomberg that it is no longer producing chips for Huawei due to revised restrictions. Huawei denied that it had “released the 910B chip.”
This is not the first time Huawei has been arrested for trying to overturn US sanctions and trade restrictions. Bloomberg also revealed in May that Huawei funneled money through a Washington-based scientific research foundation called Optica to fund secret research at U.S. universities, including Harvard University. The foundation made the decision to return in June, and announced that CEOs Elizabeth Rogen and Chad Stark would resign in August of the following year.
