The move
came after TechInsights' report claims Huawei used advanced components from TSMC,
Samsung and SK Hynix in its Ascend AI processors
China
has placed Canadian semiconductor consultancy TechInsights on
its “unreliable entity
list,” barring it from doing business with Chinese companies
and prohibiting local entities from sharing data with it. The move marks a
sharp escalation in the US–China tech war and comes days after the firm
reported that Huawei’s
Ascend AI processors contained components from TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix.
The Ottawa-based firm, known
for its reverse-engineering teardown reports, has repeatedly published analyses
of Huawei chips since the telecom giant was blacklisted by the US in 2019. Its
latest findings reignited scrutiny over whether Huawei circumvented US export
sanctions.
TechInsights was one of 14 foreign firms,
including US counter-drone companies Dedrone by Axon and DZYNE Technologies,
added to China’s blacklist. Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said the action was
taken to “safeguard
national sovereignty, security, and development interests,”
accusing the firms of cooperating militarily with Taiwan and aiding foreign
governments in restricting Chinese companies.
Analysts
said the move sends a warning to foreign and domestic consultancies over data
and security sensitivities. TechInsights, founded in
1989, provides subscription-based semiconductor intelligence reports. Its
analyses in recent years revealed SMIC’s role in producing Huawei’s advanced
chips, including the 7-nm
Kirin processors that powered Huawei’s 5G comeback.
The
blacklisting came a day after Washington added a dozen Chinese firms to its own
Entity List
for allegedly helping supply drone parts used by Hamas and Houthi militants,
underscoring the deepening technological confrontation between the two powers.
The Chinese government has put a Canadian semiconductor consultancy,
which is known for its reverse-engineering analysis of chips to track their source,
on a trade blacklist in a sign of a widening tech war with the West.
Ottawa-based TechInsights was added to the “unreliable entity
list” published by China’s Ministry of Commerce and banned from doing business with
the country. Chinese individuals and organisations have
been told not to “transmit data or provide sensitive information” to the firm.
The move came a few days after TechInsights generated headlines
for publishing a report claiming that Huawei Technologies had used advanced components
from Asia’s largest semiconductor firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co (TSMC), Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, in some of its Ascend artificial intelligence
processors.
It was not the first time that TechInsights had exposed Huawei’s
chip secrets through teardown reports on products from the Shenzhen-based tech giant,
which was blacklisted by the US in 2019.
In October 2024, the consultancy published an analysis of Huawei’s
most popular AI processor at the time, the Ascend 910B, saying the chips were produced
by TSMC. That raised questions about whether Huawei skirted US sanctions, which
prohibited it from using TSMC’s foundry services. Both TSMC and Huawei denied the
report.
TechInsight reports have been “attractive” to the global tech
supply chain, including Chinese tech companies and consumers, for their “aggressive
viewpoints and bold content”, said Chen Jia, an independent analyst in global strategy.
However, he said it was “within expectation” that unauthorised
teardowns would bring risk and legal issues given the intensified tech war.
The blacklisting move would also ring alarm bells for China-based
tech consultancies and third-party reviewing agencies over potential data security
and public policy risks, Chen added.
TechInsights was one of 14 overseas companies added to the unreliable
entity list, with counter-drone tech providers Dedrone
by Axon and DZYNE Technologies also blacklisted. They will be prohibited from engaging
in import and export activities related to China. TechInsights subsidiaries in the
US, Europe and South Korea were also added to the list.
TechInsights did not immediately respond to a request for comment
on Thursday.
The ministry said the move was to “safeguard national sovereignty,
security, and development interests”. In a statement, the ministry said the blacklisted
entities were found to have engaged in military and technological cooperation with
Taiwan, and assisted foreign governments in suppressing Chinese companies, which
“seriously undermined” national sovereignty and security.
The latest move by Beijing marks a widening of the US-China
tech war, as it is rare for a Western consultancy business to be put on the blacklist.
It also came a day after the US Department of Commerce announced
it had added a dozen companies based in China to its Entity List over their alleged
roles in facilitating the purchase and use of American components found in weaponised drones, said to be operated by Hamas and Houthi militants
in Yemen.
TechInsights, which was founded in 1989, provides technology
intelligence services to the semiconductor and electronics industry. Many of its
reports are “subscriber only” and not available to the public.
In recent years, the consultancy has gained fame among the tech
community for its reports about the US-sanctioned telecommunications equipment giant,
especially teardown analyses on chips used in Huawei’s products.
In 2023, TechInsights found that Chinese foundry Semiconductor
Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) was behind the 7-nanometre Kirin processor
inside Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which surprised the world as it was a sign
that Huawei had made a comeback in the 5G handset market despite US sanctions.
Two years later, the consultancy found that Huawei and SMIC
had faced challenges advancing their chip manufacturing to the 5-nm level. In a
report published in June, TechInsights said Huawei’s newly launched MateBook Fold Ultimate Design laptop featured the Kirin X90
system-on-a-chip, which was manufactured by SMIC using a 7-nm process node.