HUAWEI Unveils Innovative Tau Scaling Law for Future Semiconductor Development

During the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems held in Shanghai, He Tingbo, the head of HUAWEI's Semiconductor Business, introduced the Tau Scaling Law (τ). This innovative framework is designed to replace the traditional Moore's Law and guide the next generation of semiconductor technology.

The Tau Scaling Law shifts the focus from geometric scaling of transistors to a time-based scale, which serves as the primary metric for advancements. It aims to significantly enhance signal propagation speed, execution times, and overall system performance. This new regulatory framework aims to tackle the challenges faced by the semiconductor industry, particularly as previous methods of shrinking transistor sizes are becoming less viable due to diminishing returns in cost and performance enhancements.

He emphasized that the Tau Scaling Law proposes a novel pathway for semiconductor evolution, with HUAWEI leading the charge in adopting innovative solutions such as LogicFolding and a layered optimization framework encompassing devices, circuits, chips, and broader systems.

Key Features of the Tau Scaling Law

One major component of the Tau Scaling Law is the emphasis on reducing the resistance in transistors and interconnections along with minimizing parasitic capacitance, which, in turn, helps to decrease physical layer delays. Notably, the LogicFolding architecture restructures circuit designs to minimize the lengths of critical signal pathways. This not only reduces resistive and capacitive loads but also leads to better transistor density and enhanced circuit performance.

At the chip level, HUAWEI is implementing a coordinated approach that combines software, architecture, and silicon designs, optimizing instruction and data flows. This strategy aims to enhance parallel processing while simultaneously cutting down end-to-end execution time. Furthermore, the company is leveraging the UnifiedBus interconnect protocol, allowing a unified addressing scheme for memory and native memory semantics in their SuperPods, which reduces latency for large-scale computing systems.

HUAWEI has already started applying the Tau Scaling Law in mobile devices and artificial intelligence computing solutions, having developed and mass-produced 381 chips under this new framework across various sectors over the past six years. During the symposium, it was announced that the upcoming Kirin processors, set to launch in autumn 2026, will be the first to feature the LogicFolding architecture, heralding a significant boost in chip performance.

The Tau Scaling Law has also been informally dubbed the “Her Law” in honor of He, as peers in the industry recognize its potential impact. Looking ahead, HUAWEI projects that by 2031, chips developed under this framework could achieve transistor densities comparable to technology utilizing a 14-ångström process (1.4 nm).

In conclusion, He Tingbo underscored the importance of collaboration for future advancements in the semiconductor field, stating that no single company can navigate the challenges of this evolving industry alone. This statement resonates strongly in an era where innovation and progress are more reliant than ever on shared knowledge and collective efforts across the global tech community.

He Tingbo at IEEE