Huawei's 'chip queen' etches her name in China's tech folklore

Huawei’s He Tingbo, president of the company’s semiconductor business and director of its Scientist Committee, unveiled the Tau Scaling Law at the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems in Shanghai on May 25. The principle challenges the long-standing Moore’s Law by focusing on accelerating transmission speeds across devices and circuits rather than shrinking transistors, a shift Huawei says is critical as semiconductor scaling nears physical limits. He’s led Huawei’s chip development since 2003, when she was tasked with an annual budget of $400 million to build the company’s semiconductor capabilities. Over two decades, her team has mass-produced 381 chips based on the Tau Scaling Law, positioning Huawei as a leader in post-Moore’s Law technology amid U.S. sanctions that began in 2019. The restrictions cut off Huawei from key foreign chip technologies, forcing the company to develop domestic alternatives. Born in 1969 in Changsha, Hunan, He joined Huawei in 1996 after earning degrees in semiconductor physics and communication engineering. She helped establish HiSilicon, Huawei’s chip design unit, expanding it into a global operation covering smartphones, AI processors, and telecommunications chips. By 2025, HiSilicon contributed significantly to Huawei’s $165.6 billion revenue, despite sanctions isolating the company from advanced international manufacturing. In a 2019 internal letter, He framed HiSilicon’s work as a ‘backup lifeline’ for Huawei and China, emphasizing self-reliance in semiconductor technology. Her leadership has made her a symbol of China’s push for technological independence, particularly in chips, where U.S. restrictions have reshaped the industry landscape. Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law now places He at the center of a global debate on semiconductor innovation. While rivals still rely on Moore’s Law, her approach reflects China’s urgency to sustain growth without foreign dependencies. The company’s shift toward transmission-based scaling could redefine chip development if widely adopted.