Huawei to move toward software development in wake of US restrictions

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s leadership is moving the company toward software development in the face of crippling pushback by many Western nations against use of the company’s hardware.

“First, we must dare to lead the world in the pure software domain,” Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei wrote in an internal memo reviewed by The Hill. “Second, in domains where software overlaps with hardware, we should focus on optimizing software to complement hardware.”

The memo, first reported Monday by Reuters, was based on notes from two meetings Zhengfei held with scientists and software experts in April. It was only published internally this week.

Zhengfei alluded to restrictions designed to prevent Huawei from doing business in the U.S., writing that by moving into the software development space, the “US will have very little control over our future development, and we have much autonomy.”