Chinese technology giant Huawei invested more than US$22 billion, 22.4 per cent of its annual revenue in research and development (R&D), in 2021, it said in a release recently.
This was meant to drive research in green, innovative technologies, more than doubling its annual R&D investment targets.
Ken Hu, Huawei's rotating chairman, made the announcement as Huawei held its 19th annual Global Analyst Summit on April 26-27.
This focus on re-investment, Hu said, formed a large part of Huawei's approach to future innovation and building a greener intelligent world.
According to Hu, innovation had become a core part of Huawei's DNA in more than 30 years of the company's history. Despite considerable operational challenges over the past few years, the company continued to increase investment in R&D. For nearly a decade, its strategy has been to re-invest at least 10 per cent of the annual revenue back into R&D. Last year, Hu said that in addition to more than doubling its annual investment target, the company had approximately 107,000 R&D employees, representing about 54.8 per cent of our total workforce.
"At Huawei, when we talk about innovation, the first thing we think is people. We hope to attract world-class talent with world-class challenges, and work together to push the limits of science and technology," said Hu, referring to the Top Minds recruitment programme that the company launched on its website the previous day.
"We don't care where you're from, where you graduated, or what you studied,' he continued. 'As long as you have a dream for the future and believe you can make it happen, we want you to come and join us. We provide world-class challenges, a powerful platform, and all the resources you need to explore the unknown."
Hu went on to discuss the specific initiatives that Huawei was currently working on to realise its vision for the future. "We are focusing on three areas: strengthening our approach to innovation, equipping all industries with the tools and knowledge they need to go digital, and helping build a low-carbon world."
Moving forward, Huawei said it was taking active steps to boost its business resilience and ensure steady development. "We have to keep the ball rolling through nonstop innovation, creating value for customers and society," said Ken Hu. "We look forward to working more closely with our customers and partners to build a greener intelligent world."
In addition to its innovation strategy, Huawei also shared its far-reaching vision for the future and some of the exploration it's doing to get there. In his keynote speech, Dr Zhou Hong, president of Huawei's Institute of Strategic Research, said that "everything we imagine today is very likely to be too conservative - too little - for tomorrow. We have to meet the future with bold hypotheses and a bold vision, and throw caution to the wind as we push to break through bottlenecks in theory and technology. This is the only way forward."
The Huawei Global Analyst Summit was first held in 2004 an
