Huawei Set to Meet Half of China's AI Chip Demand by 2028 Through Rapid Technological Advances

Huawei is striving to advance the development of its Ascend semiconductors, and it seems the company can meet at least half of China’s AI chip demand by 2028. A new report has hinted at some clues that suggest the Chinese OEM is on the right track!

A graph in an AEI report from July 2026, entitled "China's path to Chip Independence," shows that the country is on its way to producing large quantities of AI accelerators.

The report says that even in the most gloomy situation, Huawei could meet a third or half of China’s AI chip demand by 2028 with more efficient Ascend processors.

On the other hand, if Huawei covers up more of its mobile chip production in the coming years, the figure could hit 50 percent, challenging other opponents in the market.

"In even our most pessimistic scenario, Huawei could meet a third of China’s compute demand by 2028. If memory and packaging ramp fast, and if Huawei slides over more of its production from smartphones, this figure could climb north of 50%."

Huawei itself has revealed many new solutions that can uplift its efficiency in the AI semiconductor market. The company will soon unveil Ascend 950DT as a significant alternative for Nvidia’s high-end AI processors.

The report further predicts that the company’s self-sufficiency will hit the mark by 2030. Based on these points, the US export controls appear to have accelerated, not slowed, China’s chip independence timeline.

The Future of Domestic Semiconductor Production

How much of China's AI chip demand can Huawei fulfill by 2028?

According to recent reports, Huawei is projected to fulfill between one-third and up to 50 percent of China's total AI chip demand by 2028, depending on manufacturing ramp-ups and mobile production shifts.

What role do Ascend processors play in this growth?

Huawei's Ascend series semiconductors provide efficient computing alternatives designed to power large-scale AI accelerators and data centers locally.

Have international trade restrictions impacted this timeline?

Rather than slowing down production, strict export controls appear to have catalyzed China's internal drive toward total technological independence in the semiconductor sector.

🔎 As Huawei continues to optimize its semiconductor ecosystem and scale up production capabilities, the landscape of global artificial intelligence hardware is undergoing a massive shift. Achieving domestic self-reliance in compute power will not only insulate the region from external restrictions but also establish major domestic players as formidable competitors on the world stage by the end of the decade.