Huawei Unveils Semiconductor "Tao Law": Projected to Match 1.4nm Transistor Density by 2031

The 2026 International Symposium on Circuits and Systems was held in Shanghai on May 25. He Tingbo, Huawei board member and President of the Semiconductor Business Division, delivered a keynote speech titled Exploring and Practicing New Semiconductor Pathways, where she officially introduced the "Tao (τ) Law" — China's first new principle guiding industrial development in the global semiconductor field.

Based on this law, Huawei has successfully designed and mass-produced 381 chip models over the past six years. This autumn, Huawei will release a new Kirin mobile phone chip that fully adopts logic folding technology, significantly enhancing performance.

The "Tao Law" proposes replacing "geometric scaling" with "temporal scaling," aiming to systematically reduce the time constant (Tao τ). Through innovative technologies such as logic folding, it continuously compresses signal propagation delay and increases transistor density, enabling the sustained evolution of semiconductors and electronic systems.

In recent years, Moore's Law has faced dual challenges from physical limits and economic viability. As transistor "geometric scaling" slows down and cost dividends diminish, overcoming the limitations of traditional process pathways and exploring a new, sustainable evolutionary route to meet the exponentially growing demand for computing performance has become a pressing common challenge for the global semiconductor industry.

According to IT Home, the "Tao Law" establishes a multi-layered collaborative optimization system spanning devices, circuits, chips, and systems. It is projected that by 2031, the transistor density of high-end chips based on this law will reach the equivalent level of a 1.4nm process.

Regarding the future development of the semiconductor industry, He Tingbo stated: "The future certainly belongs to open cooperation. Under the path of the 'Tao Law,' we look forward to working closely with scientists, engineers, and industry partners worldwide to jointly promote the sustainable development of the semiconductor and electronics industries."