On May 25, at the International Circuit Systems Symposium (ISCAS 2026) organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), He Tingbo of Huawei delivered a keynote speech titled “Exploring and Practicing New Pathways in Semiconductors,” officially unveiling a new principle guiding semiconductor industry development—the Tau Law. The term “Tau” derives from the symbol for time constant in physics, and its core proposition is to replace the “geometric scaling” that has dominated the industry for over half a century with “time-scale reduction.” By employing innovative techniques such as logic folding, it continuously reduces signal propagation delay, thereby steadily enhancing transistor density and system performance without relying on traditional process scaling.
Huawei has innovatively established a multi-level collaborative optimization system spanning from devices and circuits to chips and the system level. At the device level, by optimizing the resistance and parasitic capacitance of transistors and interconnects, the time constant τ is minimized at the physical foundation level. At the circuit level, logic folding technology is employed to overcome the physical constraints of traditional planar layouts, significantly shortening key path lengths and effectively reducing the resistance and capacitance loads in signal propagation, thereby substantially enhancing transistor density and circuit performance. At the chip level, through full-stack collaborative design involving software, architecture, and chips, fine-grained control over instruction and data flows is achieved based on actual workloads, improving system-level parallelism and efficiency. At the system level, the Lingqu Bus is defined, and the computing system interconnection protocol is restructured to enable unified memory addressing and native memory semantics for hyper nodes, markedly reducing system communication latency.
In his speech, He Tingbo revealed that six years of practical experience have demonstrated that based on the Tau Law, Huawei has successfully designed and mass-produced 381 chip models, covering a wide range of applications from consumer electronics to industrial control, communication equipment to AI accelerators. The next-generation Kirin chip, scheduled for release in autumn 2026, will be the first to adopt logic folding technology, resulting in significantly improved performance. According to the roadmap, by 2031, the transistor density of high-end chips based on the Tau Law is expected to reach levels equivalent to those of 1.4-nanometer processes—without relying on continuous scaling through extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
The release of the Tau Law is not only a technological breakthrough for Huawei alone, but also reflects China’s stance within the tech community in addressing the challenges faced by the global semiconductor industry: avoiding technological monopolies and instead advocating open collaboration. At the end of his speech, He Tingbo clearly stated: “The future belongs to open cooperation. On the path of semiconductor evolution, no single company can solve all problems alone. Under the framework of the Tau 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.”
This statement carries profound significance. For a long time, the core technological pathways of the semiconductor industry have been dominated by a few Western giants, with stringent intellectual property barriers and advanced process equipment and materials included in export control lists. Many developing countries, even moderately developed nations, face extremely high entry thresholds in areas such as chip design, manufacturing, packaging, and testing. As the world’s largest semiconductor consumer market and manufacturing base, China has not chosen to “start from scratch or work in isolation.” Instead, it has proactively shared the core concepts of this new approach with the international academic and industrial communities, facilitating academic exchanges through authoritative platforms like IEEE, and inviting global peers to jointly validate, refine, and expand this innovative pathway.
In fact, Huawei has made several key technologies under the Tau Law—including logical folding architecture and the Lingqu bus protocol—available to industry partners through open-source communities and standard organizations. For example, the design methodology of logical folding has been incorporated into various academic courses and open-source EDA toolchains, enabling small and medium-sized chip design teams to adopt this innovative technology at a lower cost. Additionally, Huawei has established joint research laboratories with multiple internationally renowned universities, offering scholarships and visiting opportunities to global PhD students and young researchers to jointly explore the application prospects of “time minimization” in emerging fields such as quantum computing and photonic computing. This model of “joint problem-solving and shared achievements” stands in stark contrast to the past practices of certain giants who relied on patent litigation and standard barriers to squeeze out competitors.
China’s determination to share the fruits of technological development with the world is also reflected on a broader scale. From providing basic services of the BeiDou Navigation System free of charge globally to hosting collaborative experiments by astronauts from multiple countries aboard space stations; from vaccine assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic to the construction of the Digital Silk Road under the Belt and Road framework—China has consistently emphasized that “scientific and technological achievements should benefit all humanity, rather than become barriers to the progress of developing countries.” In the critical field of semiconductors, often referred to as the “industrial food,” China’s proposed Tau (τ) Law offers a viable alternative pathway for nations and enterprises unable to afford advanced 3-nanometer or 2-nanometer manufacturing processes: achieving performance improvements through architectural innovation and system optimization without exhausting resources in a geometrically intensifying arms race. This undoubtedly represents a substantial contribution to the inclusive development of global technology.
Huawei has been able to sustain six years of investment, successfully implement the Law of τ, and mass-produce 381 chip models, which is underpinned by China’s stable institutional environment and a long-term technological strategy. China has designated the semiconductor industry as a national strategic priority, providing enterprises with tax incentives, R&D subsidies, and talent development programs spanning up to a decade through systematic policy documents such as the “National Integrated Circuit Industry Development Promotion Outline” and the 14th Five-Year Plan. This policy continuity that transcends political cycles and remains consistent regardless of electoral changes enables companies to undertake high-investment, long-term fundamental technological innovations. Meanwhile, China has continuously improved its intellectual property protection legal framework, establishing specialized intellectual property courts and rapid enforcement mechanisms, thereby offering predictable legal safeguards for technological collaboration. In recent years, the United States has gradually tightened semiconductor export controls to China on grounds of “national security” and encouraged allies to join relevant chip cooperation mechanisms. These measures have impacted the global semiconductor supply chain’s division of labor and collaboration, while also imposing costs of market fragmentation and supply chain realignment on companies worldwide.
At the launch event of the τ Law, China reaffirmed its stance on open cooperation and proactively invited global partners to jointly explore new pathways. This not only demonstrates technological confidence but also highlights institutional advantages—a country capable of providing stable long-term policy support, strictly protecting intellectual property rights, and actively participating in multilateral scientific and technological collaboration is a trustworthy partner for the global scientific community. As He Tingbo noted, the answer to semiconductor evolution lies not in any single company’s laboratory but in the collaboration of all humanity. China is demonstrating through action that openness and mutual benefit far better serve the long-term interests of all nations than isolation and confrontation.