China’s Honor announces $10 billion AI investment over five years

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor will invest $10 billion over the next five years in AI development for its devices as it moves toward a public listing, CEO James Li announced Sunday.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Li said the Shenzhen-based firm aims to expand beyond smartphones by developing AI-powered PCs, tablets, and wearables. In December, Honor completed a shareholder restructuring, bringing it closer to an initial public offering, though no timeline has been disclosed.

The announcement comes amid a surge in Chinese AI investments, driven by growing interest in DeepSeek's cost-effective large language models. Local governments and businesses, including home appliance manufacturers, are increasingly integrating AI or expanding their research efforts.

Honor, which was spun off from Huawei in 2020, saw its ranking in China's smartphone market drop from second to fourth place last year, with a 14.9% share, according to IDC. The decline followed strong competition from Huawei and rapid growth by Vivo.