Huawei will soon be able to resume development of Windows laptops as Microsoft was granted a license from the US government to export software to it.
The US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft’s request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei, Reuters reported Friday citing a spokesman.
Microsoft declined to comment beyond its statement on which products had been approved. But according to Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, the license was most likely for the company’s Windows operating system.
“This will be a major relief for Huawei after an arduous period with large technology players like Microsoft, Google and others restricted on the platform,” Ives said.
The controversy has threatened Huawei's well-received, Windows-based Matebook laptops.
Under the order, Microsoft can only support existing Huawei laptops; it's banned from helping the company develop new ones. As a result, Huawei has been considering using a Linux alternative to power future PCs.
Microsoft is among the hundreds of American technology companies seeking to resume sales to Huawei, which is currently on a US government blacklist due to US national security and foreign policy concerns.
The US Commerce Department confirmed it had begun issuing licenses for some companies to sell goods to Huawei, expanding the company’s supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars’ worth of goods.
On Wednesday, a US official said it had received roughly 300 license requests, about half of which had been processed. Roughly half of those – or one quarter of the total – had been approved and the rest denied.
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