Qualcomm will purchase an undisclosed portfolio of Huawei's US patents and cross-license the two companies' 5G, compute, AI and networking intellectual property under a multi-year agreement Huawei announced on 5 October. The deal will push Huawei's cumulative patent licensing revenue past $6.9 billion once it closes, subject to regulatory approval.

Neither company disclosed the financial terms or identified the specific patents covered. The South China Morning Post reported the agreement marks the first time Qualcomm has agreed to pay to license and acquire patents from Huawei, inverting a relationship that has historically run in the opposite direction.

What does the deal actually cover?

The package has two distinct parts:

• A cross-license covering 5G, compute, AI and networking patents on both sides
• A separate sale of US-registered Huawei patents to Qualcomm covering compute, AI, networking and other technologies

Both companies said the licenses follow fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) principles, the framework that governs standards-essential patents in 3GPP and other telecom standards bodies. The deal does not lift the US export restrictions that have required American firms to obtain a license before selling chips and software to Huawei since 2019.

How did the two companies get here?

The pair share a 25-year IP relationship. Huawei made its first licensing payment to Qualcomm in 2001 and earned its first licensing income in 2011, from Motorola. In 2020, they settled a long-running royalty dispute with a long-term license under which Huawei paid Qualcomm $1.8 billion in back fees.

Since then, Huawei has rebuilt its licensing business as US trade restrictions cut its access to advanced semiconductors. The vendor has raised research and development spending, and an August 2026 patent agreement with HP Inc. preceded the Qualcomm deal. Patents have shifted from a defensive obligation into one of Huawei's more reliable revenue lines.

What did each company say?

Huawei chief intellectual property officer Alan Fan pointed to Huawei's contributions to 4G and 5G standards, including signal transmission technology based on polar codes. "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, said the agreement "reaffirms industry recognition of Qualcomm's 5G technology leadership and the success of Qualcomm's 5G SEP licensing program." Han added that it "likewise reflects Qualcomm's recognition of Huawei's continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields."

Han framed the agreement as a vindication of Qualcomm's 5G SEP licensing programme. Fan's remarks placed Huawei's polar-code work, which features prominently in 5G control channels, at the centre of the deal's value.

Does this change the export-control picture?

Not directly. The agreement leaves the US Entity List restrictions in place. It does, however, show that US and Chinese vendors can still strike IP arrangements even as chip and software sales remain gated by Commerce Department licensing. Patents are not subject to the same export controls as hardware or software, which is why this kind of cross-licensing can proceed.

The transaction will close once the necessary regulatory approvals land, with the multi-year license expected to take effect shortly afterwards.