appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Hannah Wang

A Shanghai court sentenced 14 former Huawei Technologies employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company, the state-owned Securities Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
According to the report, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People’s Court on July 28 sentenced 14 employees of Zunpai Communication Technology, a start-up founded by engineers from Huawei’s chip development unit HiSilicon, to jail terms of up to six years on top of financial penalties.
The court has not published the verdict on its website and it is not known whether the engineers will appeal the ruling. Huawei did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The case sent shock waves through China’s semiconductor industry and highlighted the issue of intellectual property theft on the mainland.
According to the Securities Times report, Zhang Kun, a former researcher at HiSilicon, left Huawei in 2019 and founded Zunpai in March 2021 to develop Wi-fi communication chips. Zhang managed to persuade some of his former colleagues to join him at the start-up.
Huawei Technologies quickly took action against Zunpai. According to a legal document published in August 2023, Shanghai HiSilicon Technology, a Huawei subsidiary, applied to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court to freeze 95 million yuan (US$13.1 million) worth of assets under Zunpai and its subsidiaries.
In December 2023, police in Shanghai said they had arrested 14 suspects for “infringing chip technology related business secrets”. In a statement, the police did not name Zunpai or Huawei, but the details were clear enough to some members of the public to point to Zunpai and Huawei.
According to the police statement, Zhang lured his former colleagues by offering them high salaries and stock options and asked them to illegally obtain commercial secrets by copying and taking screenshots.
Shanghai police said that 40 technologies at Zhang’s firm were 90 per cent identical to those from his former employer.
“Chips are the core foundation of the electronic information industry, requiring companies to invest significant human, material, financial, and time resources in technological innovation and research and development,” police said.
“However, some criminals attempt to profit illegally by stealing chip technology, seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of companies and undermining the fair competition environment.”
China is increasing its investment in the domestic chip industry, encouraging companies to conduct independent research and development to reduce reliance on US technologies. In addition, venture capital firms and major internet companies have been entering the semiconductor industry.


China to see major shift to Huawei for AI model training in 2027: deputy chair

How Huawei plans to bypass US chip curbs with its new UnifiedBus technology

Once reliant on Samsung and SK Hynix, Chinese smartphone makers are turning to CXMT

Huawei quickens AI chip pace, promises next entrant 3 quarters early

Huawei Technologies

Ex-Huawei employees sentenced to jail for stealing semiconductor-related secrets

The exterior of a Huawei store in Shanghai. Photo: EPA-EFE 

Apple’s China sales rise with electronics consumer subsidy boost, but Huawei threat looms

A man walks past an Apple store in Beijing. Photo: EPA

Shoppers browse products at an Apple store in Beijing. Photo: EPA

Huawei returns to the top of China’s mobile phone charts for first time in 4 years: IDC

Pedestrians walk past a billboard featuring the  Huawei Pura X Classic Edition smartphone in March, in Chongqing, China. Photo: Getty Images

Huawei was the top smartphone seller in China in the second quarter. Photo: EPA-EFE

Nvidia, AMD expected to win market share in China as US eases export curbs

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is surrounded by reporters after the opening ceremony ofthe China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Tech

Big Tech

News

China

Business

China Business

Shanghai court sentences 14 former Huawei employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company


Shanghai court sentences 14 former Huawei employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company.


Ex-Huawei employees sentenced to jail for stealing semiconductor-related secrets

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Shanghai court sentences 14 former Huawei employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company

Shanghai court sentences 14 former Huawei employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company