Honor Unveils $10 Billion AI Investment Plan, Deepens Google Partnership at MWC 2025

Honor Bets Big on AI: Invests $10B to Shape the Future of Smart Devices

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor announces a US$10 billion investment in AI over the next five years at MWC 2025. The company also deepened its ties with Google to bolster its market share overseas. Honor's strategy involves embedding AI into its hardware. In addition, some of the investment will go into preparing for the Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) era. Industry insiders view Honor's increasingly close tie-up with Google as a big step. An industry expert says, "Previously, Google seemed to be keeping Chinese phone manufacturers at arm's length when it came to the most sophisticated parts of Gemini AI. But Honor's new alliance brings it in line with Samsung's Galaxy and Google's Pixel devices, and that is a big deal."

China's Honor pledges $10 billion AI investment and deepens ties with Google in global push

BARCELONA -- Honor on Sunday pledged $10 billion in artificial intelligence investments over the next five years and announced a deepening partnership with Google, as the Chinese smartphone maker looks to bolster its market share overseas. The investment plan, revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is designed to reposition the firm from a smartphone player into an "AI device ecosystem company," according to Honor. The Chinese company is somewhat of an upstart in the smartphone world, after spinning off from Huawei in 2020 when the tech giant was hit with U.S. sanctions. Since then, Honor has looked to expand outside of China and push into the higher-end part of the market where Apple and Samsung play. The company has made some headway by releasing some innovative devices, including foldable phones, but it still remains a small player globally. Its smartphone market share outside of China stood at 2.3% in 2024 versus 1.7% in 2023, according to IDC data.

Honor Device Pledges $10 Billion for AI in Bid to Be More Than a Phone Maker

Honor Device Co., one of China's biggest smartphone makers, plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years to become a contender in the artificial intelligence race. The Shenzhen-based company, which got its start as a spinoff from Huawei Technologies Co., announced a new corporate strategy that centers on building a device-centric AI ecosystem at Mobile World Congress. The funds for its investment push will come from the company and its investors, an Honor representative said, without providing further details. Honor's biggest backers are local government entities and it also has display maker BOE Technology Group Co. and two of China's mobile carriers among its investors.

China's Honor announces $10 billion investment in AI devices

SHENZHEN, China, March 2(Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Honor will spend $10 billion over the next five years on developing AI for its devices as the former Huawei unit prepares for a public listing, its CEO James Li said on Sunday. The Shenzhen-based company aims to expand from being primarily a smartphone company and develop a system of AI-powered PCs, tablets and wearables, Li said in a speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona. In December, Honor said it had completed a shareholder restructuring that moved it closer to an initial public offering, though no timeline has been announced. Honor's announcement comes amid a boom in Chinese AI investment spurred by interest in startup DeepSeek's low-price large language models, with interested parties from local governments to home appliance makers rushing to integrate DeepSeek's technology or do more AI research. Last year Honor slipped from second to fourth place in terms of China phone shipments, with a 14.9% market share, amid renewed competition from its former parent, Huawei, and strong growth from Vivo, according to consultancy IDC. In August Reuters reported that Honor is receiving a high level of support from the Shenzhen local government in terms of research and development funding, tax breaks and support expanding overseas. Reporting by David Kirton. Editing by Gerry Doyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Smartphone maker Honor bets on AI-powered 'intelligent phone'

Barcelona: Chinese smartphone maker Honor said Sunday it was working on an AI-powered "intelligent phone", adding that it would invest $10 billion into artificial intelligence collaborations. In a statement ahead of the Mobile World Congress that opens in Barcelona Monday, Honor said the future device would include a "personal mobile AI agent" able to carry out tasks like making restaurant reservations. The "envisioned" phone is part of Honor's push to become a "leading AI device ecosystem company", it said. Artificial intelligence "agents" are the latest trend in the emerging technology. Industry giants such as OpenAI are promising tools that will take tasks like scheduling and research off human hands -- although for now the services mostly still require significant user supervision and input. Honor said partnerships it announced Sunday with both Google Cloud and smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm would boost its AI agent efforts. Beyond agents, Honor said it would use AI to improve the quality of photos snapped with the company's handsets. The company also plans on-device features to detect AI-generated "deepfakes", or images and video featuring the likenesses of real people. And it announced new laptop and tablet models integrating the company's latest AI tools. MWC is often the venue for new model announcements, with competitor Xiaomi on Sunday trailing its latest flagship phone offering high-quality photography with a Leica camera. Honor recently replaced its chief executive in the run-up to an independent stock market flotation for the company. New boss Jian Li said in Sunday's statement that he expected AI to "reshape the paradigm of the device industry". He added that global tech firms needed to "open up our industry boundaries and co-create" the AI ecosystem, vowing $10 billion of investment into such collaborations over the coming five years. Scoring internationally with high-end phones and foldable devices, Honor was spun off in 2020 from tech heavyweight Huawei as it suffered under US trade sanctions. Honor has in recent months shored up support from other Chinese giants, including a deal for cloud services with Tencent and selling a stake to leading network operator China Mobile.

Honor is dropping $10 billion to build a smarter smartphone - Phandroid

It's par for the course these days that all our smartphones come with AI features. Whether we're talking about full-blown AI assistants like Gemini, or just a bunch of AI photo editing tools, there's bound to be some kind of AI inside there. However, Honor could be taking things to the next level with an AI smartphone. At MWC 2025, the company announced the Honor Alpha Plan. This is a $10 billion investment over the next few years that will see the company build an AI ecosystem of their own. According to Honor, this will see the company transition from a typical smartphone manufacturer to an "AI Device Ecosystem company" (their words, not ours). This will include devices like an "Intelligent Phone" in partnership with Google and Qualcomm. The company aims to be the first to introduce an AI-driven phone, in which we might already have seen a glimpse of it. According to a report from WIRED, Honor showcased its new Honor UI Agent, an on-screen AI tool that can understand what's on your screen and have it perform tasks like making reservations for you. In addition to creating an AI smartphone, Honor also wants to create an intelligent ecosystem. This comes in the form of AI Connect that will make it easier for iOS and Android users to share files. These are very lofty goals and we're sure that Honor isn't the only one working on AI, so it will be interesting to see whose version will come out on top.

Google And China's Honor Deepen AI Partnership As Huawei Spin-Off Takes On Apple And Samsung With $10 Billion Investment - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Honor has ramped up its AI ambitions with a $10 billion investment over the next five years, alongside a deeper partnership with Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google, as it looks to compete with Apple Inc. AAPL and Samsung Electronics Co. SSNLF in the global smartphone market. What Happened: On Sunday, the Chinese smartphone maker, which spun off from Huawei Technologies in 2020, announced the investment at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, according to a report by CNBC. The funding aims to transform Honor from a smartphone manufacturer into an "AI device ecosystem company." "This is not limited to our own devices, but also AI devices from different partners, so the different kinds of AI devices can talk to each other, and consumers can have more choices and seamless experiences," an Honor spokesperson told the publication. See Also: MrBeast Lost Millions On Amazon's 'Beast Games' -- Now He's Looking To Raise Hundreds Of Millions To Take His Brand To The Next Level Honor also unveiled a proof-of-concept AI agent that can complete tasks such as booking restaurant reservations based on user preferences. The company is collaborating with Google and Qualcomm Inc. QCOM on the project, though it has not provided a release timeline. In another move signaling closer ties with Google, Honor committed to seven years of Android updates and security patches for its Magic series flagship smartphones, aligning it with Google's Pixel and Samsung's Galaxy S series. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It's Important: Honor has been working on expanding beyond China and targeting the premium smartphone market, competing with Apple and Samsung. It has gained some traction with innovative devices, including foldable phones. However, it remains a minor player globally. According to International Data Corp, global smartphone shipments increased by 2.4% in the fourth-quarter of 2024, marking six straight quarters of growth. Chinese brands expanded their market share by offering both budget-friendly and premium devices in emerging markets. IDC data also shows that Honor's market share outside China rose from 1.7% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2024. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Paramount Resumes Partnership With Nielsen For Data Services: Details Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock AAPLApple Inc$241.901.94%OverviewGOOGAlphabet Inc$172.401.29%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$170.521.20%QCOMQualcomm Inc$157.401.92%SSNLFSamsung Electronics Co Ltd$42.48-13.8%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs