BEIJING: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years to enhance AI capabilities in its devices, as the former Huawei subsidiary gears up for a public listing, CEO James Li announced on Sunday.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Li emphasized the company’s goal to evolve beyond smartphones, aiming to develop an AI-powered ecosystem of PCs, tablets, and wearables.
In December, Honor completed a shareholder restructuring, signalling progress toward an initial public offering (IPO), though no specific timeline has been set.
The announcement comes amid a surge in Chinese AI investments, fueled by growing interest in DeepSeek’s cost-effective large language models. Local governments and companies, from home appliance manufacturers to tech giants, are actively integrating AI technology into their operations.
Despite once holding the second spot in China’s smartphone market, Honor slipped to fourth place last year, capturing a 14.9% market share, according to IDC. The decline came amid heightened competition from Huawei and Vivo.
In August, Reuters reported that Honor is receiving substantial R&D funding, tax breaks, and overseas expansion support from the Shenzhen local government to bolster its growth.
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