Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese telecommunications giant facing U.S. blacklisting, has been revealed to be secretly funding cutting-edge research at American universities, including prestigious institutions like Harvard, through an independent Washington-based foundation. Despite facing restrictions in the U.S. due to concerns over potential spying activities on behalf of Beijing, Huawei has been the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since its inception in 2022.
The competition, administered by the Optica Foundation, a nonprofit professional society focused on light-based technologies, has attracted hundreds of proposals from scientists worldwide, including those from top U.S. universities that have banned their researchers from working with Huawei. The foundation’s agreement with Huawei stipulates that the Chinese company’s funding and sponsorship of the competition remain confidential.
Huawei has defended its role in funding the competition, stating that it was created to support global research and academic communication. However, the company’s involvement has raised concerns among research security specialists and defense experts. They argue that the lack of transparency violates the spirit of university and U.S. funding-agency policies, potentially allowing Huawei to influence research projects and recruit talent without direct contracts with academic institutions.
Despite universities like Harvard and the University of Southern California having policies against working with Huawei, researchers from these institutions have been awarded funding through the Optica Foundation competition. The arrangement has sparked debate over the ethical implications of accepting funding from a Chinese company with ties to potential national security risks.
As Huawei continues to fund the competition for a planned decade, totaling $10 million in awards, questions remain about the impact of its involvement on the integrity of academic research and the potential for intellectual property acquisition. With concerns mounting over foreign influence in U.S. research, universities and researchers are facing increased scrutiny over their ties to companies like Huawei.