Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (/ˈhwɑːˌweɪ/; pinyin: About this sound Huáwéi) is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong.[3] It is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012.[4]

Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former engineer in the People’s Liberation Army. At the time of its establishment, Huawei was focused on manufacturing phone switches, but has since expanded its business to include: building telecommunications networks; providing operational and consulting services and equipment to enterprises inside and outside of China; and manufacturing communications devices for the consumer market.[5][6] Huawei has over 170,000 employees as of September 2015, around 76,000 of whom are engaged in research and development (R&D).[7][8] It has 21 R&D institutes in countries including China, the United States,[9] Canada,[10] the United Kingdom,[11] Pakistan, France, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, Sweden, Ireland, India,[12] Russia, and Turkey,[13][14] and in 2014, the company invested $6.4 billion USD in R&D, up from $5 billion USD in 2013.[15]

In 2014, Huawei recorded a profit of 34.2 billion CNY (5.5 billion USD).[16] Its products and services have been deployed in more than 140 countries and it currently serves 5 of the world’s 50 largest telecoms operators.