Huawei and Qualcomm have signed a multi-year patent cross-licensing agreement covering 5G, AI, computing and networking, the companies announced on October 5, 2026 — the first such deal between the two that includes 5G.

Qualcomm will additionally acquire a portion of Huawei's US patents in computing, AI, networking and other areas, with that purchase contingent on regulatory sign-off. Neither side disclosed royalty rates or the transaction value.

What exactly is in the deal?

The cross-licence grants each company rights to the other's patents in four technology areas: 5G, artificial intelligence, computing and networking. Huawei's Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Alan Fan, framed it as a recognition of both sides' portfolios. "This agreement not only demonstrates the value of Huawei's innovations, but also recognizes Qualcomm's foundational contributions to modern communication technologies," Fan said.

John Han, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, pointed to standard-essential patent economics. "This agreement reaffirms industry recognition of Qualcomm's 5G technology leadership and the success of Qualcomm's 5G SEP licensing program," Han said.

How large is Huawei's patent licensing business?

Huawei expects the agreement to push the cumulative value of its patent licensing deals above $6.9 billion once fully closed. The company also said its licensing operation has been revenue-positive every year since 2021.

That licensing business has matured over more than two decades. Huawei made its first licensing payment to Qualcomm in 2001 and recorded its first licensing income ten years later, from Motorola, in 2011. The Qualcomm agreement now extends a commercial relationship that has shifted from one-way royalties to a balanced exchange.

Why is the US patent sale still pending?

The carve-out of Huawei's US patents into Qualcomm's hands requires clearance from US regulators. US trade restrictions placed on Huawei since 2019 have limited its access to advanced semiconductors and certain software, but those measures do not categorically bar patent licensing or sale transactions. The deal is the second major Huawei patent pact disclosed in two months, following a Wi-Fi agreement with HP in August 2026 — a deal HP later said settled a legal dispute rather than signalling a broader partnership.

What does the deal signal for 5G and AI licensing?

The agreement ratifies the two companies' positions in 5G standard-essential patent pools at a moment when AI training and inference workloads are starting to draw on telecom-grade networking and computing IP. For Qualcomm, the US patent acquisition adds depth in computing and AI assets that complement its mobile heritage. For Huawei, the licence monetises a research pipeline that has scaled up under the constraints of the 2019 US trade controls.

The deal's structure — cross-licence plus a patent sale, with the latter awaiting approval — sets a template other Chinese-US technology pairs may study. Closing of the US patent transfer and the publication of any subsequent royalty benchmark will be the next indicators of how the market values 5G and AI SEPs in the current regulatory environment.