Few firms are as synonymous with controversy as Huawei. In recent years, the telecom giant headquartered in Shenzhen, China, has been barred from key U.S. infrastructure, hit with a raft of sanctions, and caught up in a diplomatic standoff with Canada. But after weathering the geopolitical hurricane, Huawei has now restructured its supply chains and announced $12 billion profit in 2023, more than double year-on-year. Huawei Cloud has been key, serving more than 170 countries and regions with data architecture to fuel the generative AI revolution. Last year, Huawei also unveiled a smartphone with a homemade 7-nanometer chip, astonishing industry wonks and alarming U.S. policymakers, who have responded with yet more sanctions. Don’t expect Huawei to be cowed. “Each time new technology is adopted, it has the potential to change lives,” CFO Meng Wanzhou said in an April speech.
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Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com