Malaysia's Huawei Chip Consideration in AI Project May Test US Ties

Choosing Huawei chips in a US$494 million sovereign AI project could breach export control assurances given to Washington

Malaysia’s reported move to use chips from Chinese tech giant Huawei in its 2 billion ringgit (US$494 million) sovereign AI project could test the export-control commitments it signed with Washington last year, analysts say.

The move could complicate Kuala Lumpur’s long-running effort to work with both American and Chinese technology firms, particularly as Washington pushes US AI systems across Southeast Asia.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Malaysia was seriously evaluating Huawei’s Ascend 910C accelerators as the backbone of its sovereign AI initiative, citing people familiar with the matter.

State-linked Telekom Malaysia was selected as the key operator after a public tender, while officials from Malaysia’s National Security Council are expected to travel to Washington later this month to discuss the issue, the US-based news agency reported.

A separate tender that could give US chipmakers such as Nvidia a more direct opportunity to compete was also under discussion, the report said.