At the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), Huawei unveiled a new chip design framework called the Tau (τ) Scaling Law and an architecture called LogicFolding. Huawei claims that the new architecture will allow the company to build chips equivalent to 1.4nm density by 2031. And most notably, Huawei is touting this without using ASML's EUV lithography machines, which it has been blocked from buying.
Huawei's 1.4nm Roadmap is Ambitious
Instead of shrinking transistors further like TSMC and Samsung do, Huawei's Tau Scaling Law focuses on cutting the time it takes signals to travel through chips. LogicFolding is the circuit-layout tech that does this, which rearranges the internal wiring of the chip so signals don't have to travel far. So, instead of smaller transistors, it's going after faster signals inside the chip.
Huawei semiconductor business president He Tingbo said that Huawei has already mass-produced 381 chips over the past six years using this framework across smartphones and AI computing. The first commercial chip to use LogicFolding will be the next-gen Kirin SoC launching in Fall 2026.
Compared to a traditional SoC, Huawei claims LogicFolding on the 2026 Kirin chip will deliver a 53.5% jump in transistor density, 40% better P-core efficiency and a peak clock speed of 3.1GHz. The company expects this to scale to a transistor density equivalent to a 1.4nm process node by 2031.
That said, this is not actual 1.4nm fabrication. Huawei is talking about achieving 1.4nm density through circuit design improvements and it's not real 1.4nm lithography. Due to the US pressure, the Dutch government has blocked China from buying ASML's advanced lithography machines, hence, Huawei is taking the design route.
By the way, Samsung's own 1.4nm node is on track for 2029. Not to mention, TSMC is already preparing for 1nm chips and its 1.4nm A14 node is targeted for 2028. Basically, even if everything works out fine, Huawei's roadmap stays around three years behind the industry leaders.
To put that gap in perspective, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to be built on TSMC's 2nm node and is set to launch in September this year. MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro and Apple's A20 are also reported to use TSMC's 2nm (N2P) node and they will be launched in 2026 itself.
Meanwhile, Huawei's current flagship Kirin 9030 Pro chip is built on SMIC's 6nm to 5nm node so the gap is pretty huge and it's unlikely that LogicFolding would quickly change that.
