Huawei’s efforts to develop its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip have not translated into significant revenue gains compared to its competitors, as the Chinese tech sector seeks to close the gap with U.S. companies in AI technology. The company’s cloud computing revenue from external customers fell by 3.5% in 2025, amounting to 32.16 billion yuan ($4.6 billion). Although this figure represents less than 4% of Huawei’s total revenue, the company remains the second-largest cloud provider in mainland China.
In contrast, overall cloud revenue, which includes both internal and external customers, rose by 4.8% to 72.8 billion yuan. However, revenue growth in the main ICT infrastructure segment, which encompasses Huawei’s self-developed Ascend AI chip solutions aimed at competing with Nvidia, slowed to 2.6% from 4.9% in 2024. Huawei reported total ICT revenue of 375.01 billion yuan in 2025. U.S. restrictions affecting Chinese companies’ access to advanced Nvidia chips, coupled with the Chinese government’s push for tech self-sufficiency, are influencing these figures.
As Huawei’s cloud revenue declined, ByteDance has emerged as a key player in the AI cloud market, significantly expanding its services. The company, owner of TikTok, is reportedly planning a data center in Malaysia to enhance access to high-end Nvidia chips. Despite growth challenges, Alibaba reported a 36% increase in cloud revenue for the same period, while Tencent also saw a rise in business services revenue.
Huawei ranked first in smartphone shipments in China for 2025, though its market position has been challenged by Apple following the release of the iPhone 17. Despite a modest overall revenue increase to 880.9 billion yuan, Huawei’s spending on research and development reached a record 192.3 billion yuan, representing 21.8% of its revenue.
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