In this photo illustration, the Huawei logo is displayed on a smartphone with the Chinese flag in the background.
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The Chinese government has banned semiconductor research firm TechInsights from collaborating with or receiving data from Chinese companies, a move that could increase opacity in the country’s chip industry.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced Thursday that TechInsights has been designated as an “untrusted entity” that prohibits Chinese individuals and organizations from sharing information with the Canada-based company, citing national security concerns.
TechInsights is well known in the global technology industry for its in-depth coverage of Chinese chips and is one of the first to report on breakthroughs by companies like Huawei Technologies.
The Chinese government’s crackdown on TechInsights comes less than a week after the company revealed that Huawei’s latest artificial intelligence chip had failed with components sourced from outside mainland China.
TechInsights did not respond to a request for comment from CNBC outside of regular business hours, and Huawei did not immediately respond to inquiries about TechInsights’ report.
TechInsights’ findings on Huawei’s latest “Ascend” AI chips are consistent with findings from other research firms such as Semianalysis, which says Chinese companies rely on technology from memory chip makers including: samsung electronics and contract chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC).
These companies are subject to U.S. export controls, which limit their ability to sell cutting-edge technology to Chinese customers. Additionally, Huawei has been on the U.S. trade blacklist since 2019, which prohibits chipmakers that do business with the U.S. from doing business directly with the United States.
In response, the Chinese government and its semiconductor manufacturers are stepping up efforts to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain.
Some may see TechInsights’ latest findings as undermining Huawei, one of China’s key players in this effort, which is developing an alternative to U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia.
Despite Huawei’s prominence in China’s chip sector, few details have been revealed about Huawei’s chip manufacturing efforts beyond what third-party research firms have disclosed.
For example, Huawei reportedly works closely with SMIC, a major Chinese chip foundry that is a competitor of TSMC, but the two companies have remained silent about any collaboration since Huawei was placed on the US trade blacklist.
Last year, TechInsights reported that Huawei products were found to contain TSMC chip components, raising questions about the effectiveness of U.S. export controls. The research firm’s latest findings on Huawei’s AI chips could further fuel these concerns.
Analysts say Chinese semiconductor companies have exploited loopholes in U.S. regulations and exhausted their stocks of imported chips and components before certain regulations were triggered.
