Huawei alone funds a research competition that has given millions of dollars and invited hundreds of scientific applications since 2022.
Despite being banned in the United States, it has emerged that Huawei is secretly investing in research in the US. Bloomberg claims an independent Washington research foundation and a scientist competition fund Harvard and other institution cutting-edge research investments.
Secret funds and scientific competitions
Huawei alone has sponsored a research competition that has raised millions of dollars and hundreds of scientific ideas since 2022. Many of these scientists, associated with leading US universities, refrain from working with Huawei due to the ban. However, the competition participants thought the money came from Optica, not Huawei. The contest offers $1 million in prizes each year, and Optica does not identify Huawei as its cash provider.
National security concerns and freedom of inquiry
Huawei’s secret funding is a bad look for a prestigious research foundation that anonymously accepts money from a Chinese company that raises national security concerns for the US government. James Mulvenon, a defense contractor and co-author of several books on industrial espionage, says this raises many national security issues for the US government. However, he observes that the ban does not encompass funding research that is about to be published, rendering it not illegal.
