Qualcomm has announced a multi-year cross-licensing agreement with Huawei that includes a payment from the American chipmaker to the Chinese technology firm. This arrangement marks a historic shift in the relationship between the two companies, as Qualcomm will pay Huawei for patent rights for the first time in their 25-year history. The deal covers 5G and artificial intelligence technologies, as well as compute and networking patents.
Historic Reversal in Licensing Ties
The licensing relationship between Qualcomm and Huawei began in 2001, when Huawei, then primarily a telecom infrastructure supplier, acquired a royalty-bearing license to build CDMA network equipment. For decades, the flow of payments moved from Huawei to Qualcomm. That dynamic has now flipped. Qualcomm stopped counting royalties from Huawei in its revenue reports in early 2025, signaling the end of the previous financial arrangement.
The new agreement is described as a broad patent license that allows for cross-licensing. Both companies stated that the deal reflects their commitment to intellectual property rights and licensing consistent with fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory principles. Huawei clarified that the agreement involves no other business cooperation, which implies that chip sales between the two firms are not part of this specific deal.
Patent Purchase and Financial Impact
In addition to the cross-licensing terms, Qualcomm is buying some of Huawei’s U.S. patents outright. The transaction is pending regulatory approval, and no timetable has been provided for its closure. The number of patents involved and the total value of the purchase were not disclosed in the announcement. Each company credited the other’s portfolio, suggesting a mutual recognition of the value of their respective intellectual property holdings.
For Huawei, the deal adds to a growing portfolio of licensing revenue. The company stated that the total value of its patent-licensing contracts will now exceed $6.9 billion, counting from its first licensing income from Motorola in 2011. Since 2021, Huawei has reported that its licensing business generates more revenue than it pays to other firms for patents. As of 2025, the company holds 165,000 active granted patents worldwide.
The agreement follows a series of legal and regulatory challenges between the two firms. A back royalty dispute was settled in 2020. In 2024, the U.S. government revoked Qualcomm’s license to sell certain hardware to Huawei. Huawei had halted royalty payments to Qualcomm in 2018 and previously testified before the Federal Trade Commission regarding Qualcomm’s licensing terms during an antitrust trial in 2019.
Broader Industry Context
Huawei has increasingly enforced its patent rights through legal channels, including a 2024 lawsuit against MediaTek. The company also signed a multi-year Wi-Fi patent cross-license with HP in August. The new deal with Qualcomm levels the playing field, allowing Huawei to receive payments from a company that was once its primary licensing partner.
Qualcomm recently renewed its license with Apple, effective April 1, 2027, after the current extension expires. The company’s fourth-quarter financial report is expected next month, but the fiscal year ended before this announcement, so the deal will not be reflected in those numbers. The reversal in payments marks a significant change in the global semiconductor and telecommunications landscape, as Qualcomm now becomes the payer in its relationship with Huawei.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
