On October 5, 2026, Huawei and Qualcomm announced that they had reached a multi-year, broad patent licensing agreement. The agreement includes cross-licensing of the parties’ respective patent portfolios in technology areas such as 5G, computing, artificial intelligence, and networking, as well as Qualcomm’s purchase of certain U.S. patents held by Huawei in the fields of computing, artificial intelligence, and networking. The transaction is expected to close upon receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals; financial terms were not disclosed.

Fan Zhiyong, Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Department, stated: “Huawei’s decades of sustained investment in fundamental R&D has driven innovation and progress in mobile communications and other technological fields. Huawei’s extensive contributions to 4G/5G standards—such as the adoption of polar codes and signal transmission technologies that push the limits of physics—have established Huawei’s leading position in the mobile communications industry and continue to transform the way people communicate and live. This agreement not only reflects the value of Huawei’s innovations but also recognizes Qualcomm’s foundational contributions to modern communications.”

John Han, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm’s Technology Licensing Business, said: “Qualcomm’s long-term investment in fundamental wireless technology R&D has supported generations of mobile innovation and earned widespread recognition from the global wireless industry. This agreement once again reaffirms the industry’s recognition of Qualcomm’s leadership in 5G technology and the success of its 5G standard-essential patent licensing program, and it also reflects Qualcomm’s recognition of Huawei’s ongoing innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields.”

Public information shows that the licensing relationship between Huawei and Qualcomm has spanned more than two decades, initially centered on Huawei paying royalties to use Qualcomm’s foundational wireless patents. The two parties previously had a dispute over licensing fees but reached a settlement in 2020, which included the signing of a patent license agreement between Qualcomm and Huawei, a cross-licensing arrangement granting Huawei a reverse license, and a payment of $1.8 billion by Huawei to Qualcomm.