Huawei founder urges software push to counter U.S. sanctions

SHENZHEN, China: Founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Ren Zhengfei has called on staff at the company to “dare to lead the world” in software as the company seeks growth beyond hardware operations crippled by U.S. sanctions.

In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Ren said the company is focusing on software because future development in the field is fundamentally “outside of U.S. control and we will have greater independence and autonomy”.

Huawei was put on an export blacklist by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019 and barred from accessing critical U.S.-origin technology, impeding its ability to design its own chips and source components from outside vendors.