Honor to Invest USD 10 Billion in AI Devices Over Five Years

Chinese smartphone maker Honor will invest USD 10 billion in artificial intelligence development for its devices over the next five years, Chief Executive Officer James Li announced on Sunday.

Credit: HONOR

The Shenzhen-based company plans to expand beyond smartphones by developing AI-powered PCs, tablets, and wearables. Li made the announcement during a speech at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

Honor, a former unit of Huawei, has been preparing for a public listing. In December, the company completed a shareholder restructuring, bringing it closer to an initial public offering, though no timeline has been set.

The announcement comes as Chinese companies ramp up AI investments, driven by interest in startup DeepSeek’s low-cost large language models. Local governments and home appliance manufacturers have been integrating DeepSeek’s technology or increasing AI research efforts.

Honor ranked fourth in China’s smartphone market last year, holding a 14.9% share, according to consultancy IDC. The company slipped from second place due to renewed competition from Huawei and strong growth from Vivo.

In August, Reuters reported that Honor has been receiving significant support from the Shenzhen local government, including research and development funding, tax breaks, and assistance in expanding overseas.

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• Honor will invest USD 10 billion in AI development over five years

• The company aims to expand into AI-powered PCs, tablets, and wearables

• Honor completed a shareholder restructuring in December, moving closer to a public listing

Source: REUTERS