ARM to Suspend Business with Huawei
UK chip designer ARM is suspending business with China’s Huawei to comply with U.S. regulations, in order to comply with a United States blockade of the company.
“ARM is complying with all of the latest regulations set forth by the U.S. government,” an ARM spokesman said in a statement. “No further comment at this time.”
Earlier, BBC reported that ARM instructed employees to halt “all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements” with Huawei and its subsidiaries, the BBC said.
ARM, owned by Japanese investor Softbank, said in an internal company memo that its designs contained technology of U.S. origin.
Huawei said it was confident it could resolve the situation.
"We value our close relationships with our partners, but recognize the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions," a Huawei spokesman said.
"We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world."
The United States blocked Huawei from buying U.S. goods last week, jeopardizing ties with Google, which provides the Android operating system and services like Gmail and Google Maps, as well as hardware partners such as ARM.
It temporarily eased restrictions on Huawei on Tuesday, granting it a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19, meaning that updates of Google apps can continue until then.
Huawei and its chip arm HiSilicon have been using ARM's IP for the design of their products. It is unclear how the latest development would affect Huawei's business, although analysts see it as a serious blow. It could greatly affect the firm's ability to develop its own chips.
HiSilicon said last Friday that it has long been prepared for the "extreme scenario" that it could be banned from purchasing US chips and technology, and that it was able to ensure steady supply of most products.
Earlier this momth, Huawei announced plans to build a 400-person chip research and development factory outside Cambridge, in the heart of the UK’s silicon chip industry and just a 15-minute drive from the headquarters of Arm Holdings.
British mobile operators EE and Vodafone both said on Wednesday they had dropped Huawei smartphones from the imminent launch range of their 5G networks.