Huawei has been considered a national security threat by the US, but that hasn't stopped the Chinese company from secretly funding R&D activities at American universities.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Huawei is currently the sole sponsor of the research competition organized by the Washington (USA)-based Optica Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides resources for those researching optics and photonics, management.
The competition first started in 2022 and has awarded millions in prizes. It attracted proposals from scientists around the world, including those from top US universities that have cut ties with Huawei, such as Harvard.
Interestingly enough, this happened in a context where Optica was not required to name Huawei as a funding source or program sponsor. Many applicants and university officials contacted by the agency were unaware that Huawei was the company sponsoring the program. On Optica's website, the Huawei-sponsored contest is revealed to be the largest cash prize contest, but the company's name is not mentioned as a “financial contributing company,” which This does not happen with the other 10 funding sources currently listed.
This agreement allows Huawei to continue to be a major sponsor of important international research. A Huawei spokesperson said the Chinese giant and the Optica Foundation started the competition to support international research and promote academic communication. He said that revealing Huawei's name would give its competitors a promotional boost, which is why the company's name is being kept private.
That contrasts with the company's approach in European countries, where Huawei does not hesitate to put its name on the science centers it runs. Optica CEO Liz Rogan noted that some of the fund's donors, including those from the US, wanted to remain anonymous and that there was "nothing unusual about this activity".
Huawei is one of Optica's highest-level sponsors, having donated more than $1 million since the organization was founded more than two decades ago. American companies Google and Meta were among the companies in the second highest group of donors who gave away $200,000 or more.
This organization's policy is said to not violate US Department of Commerce regulations that prohibit people from sharing technology with Huawei. However, some of the resulting research may have defense and commercial relevance and may help the company recruit people by sponsoring people it finds promising and purchasing intellectual property from their research.