Huawei has achieved what the semiconductor industry considered impossible: surpass the limits of Moore's Law and develop chips that could compete directly with those of TSMC, the Taiwanese manufacturer that dominates the global market. The advance, which would be a direct hit to sanctions imposed by the United States, marks a turning point in the technological war between China and the United States.

Huawei found a way to “hot on TSMC’s heels” through an innovative architecture that evades the technological restrictions imposed by sanctions. The Chinese company has been blocked since 2019 from accessing advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies, especially those using ASML equipment and sub-7 nanometer processes.

The end of Moore's Law

Moore's Law, formulated by Gordon Moore in 1965, states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every two years, which has guided industry progress for decades. However, experts considered that this law was reaching its physical limit due to the atomic restrictions of the materials and the difficulty of miniaturizing transistors beyond certain points.

Huawei would have overcome this obstacle through a combination of innovative techniques that include advanced 3D architectures, new materials and manufacturing processes that evade traditional limitations. The result would be a chip that, although it does not follow the conventional path of miniaturization, achieves higher performance than Moore's Law predicts.

The impact on US sanctions

Huawei's advance represents a direct challenge to the sanctions imposed by the United States. Washington has attempted to slow China's technological progress by restricting access to manufacturing equipment, design software and critical materials. The idea was that without access to the latest technology, Chinese companies would be irreversibly left behind.

However, Huawei's new development shows that the company can innovate within restrictions, finding alternative paths that evade blockades. “This is a point for China and a scare for the US,” say industry analysts. Huawei's ability to produce competitive chips without access to Western technology could weaken the effectiveness of sanctions in the long term.

Competition with TSMC worsens for Washington

TSMC is the most advanced semiconductor manufacturer in the world, with 3 nanometer processes and 2 nm in development. The company supplies chips for Apple, NVIDIA, AMD and other tech giants. The fact that Huawei can “close on the heels” of TSMC means that China is reducing the technological gap that separated it from the world leader.

This has important strategic implications. If Huawei manages to massify its new technology, China could reduce its dependence on TSMC and other external manufacturers, strengthening its technological autonomy. In addition, it could offer competitive chips for the Chinese domestic market and, eventually, for export.

What's next for the technological war?

Huawei's advance does not mean that sanctions are over, but it does change the equation. The United States now faces the reality that restrictions may push China to innovate faster than anticipated, rather than slowing it down. Washington's response could include new, more specific restrictions or, on the contrary, a rethinking of the strategy.

For users, the development could mean more competition in the chip market, which could benefit in the long term with lower prices and greater innovation. But the battle for technological supremacy between China and the US is just beginning, and Huawei has just shown that it is not willing to give up.