(Yicai Global) March 24 -- Huawei Technologies and its partners are expected to finish verifying software tools to design chips with processes of 14 nanometers and above this year, which could help the troubled telecoms giant overcome its supply chain barriers. 

Huawei and its allies have succeeded in producing design automation tools for chips of 14nm and above, Yicai Global learned from recent meeting minutes uttered by Xu Zhijun, rotating chairman of the Shenzhen-based firm. Semiconductors chip of 14nm and higher are still at least two generations behind the leading technologies of today.

The tech behemoth has been having a hard time retaining its market share overseas while keeping up with the development of new innovations after it was placed on the American government's Entity List in May 2019 to restrict its access to technologies made in the United States. Most of the EDA tools used around the world are developed by US companies.

Huawei and its partners have already unveiled 11 EDA tools. About 200,000 software developers and 197,000 hardware developers are using them every month, Xu said, adding that there are 203 firms that are willing to pay to use them.

The tech giant is preparing to offer the tools to teachers and students in colleges and universities to cultivate a user group, the rotating chairman added. 

Huawei has achieved many breakthroughs but still faces great challenges, and a few more breakthroughs are needed in tool development, Xu said, adding that it needs to attract more talent worldwide to accelerate its efforts.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi