Underdog Huawei aims to topple the goliaths of the smartphone market -- Apple and Samsung - CNET

If you live in the US, you might not even know the name Huawei, so the idea that the company could become the number one cell phone maker in the world in five years seems far fetched to say the least. But according to the Wall Street Joual, that number one spot is just where the CEO of the company wants to be.

Speaking at the Converge technology conference in Hong Kong, Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer electronics business, gave reason to believe the idea of passing Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market is actually a goal within reach.

Huawei currently owns an 8.3% global market share compared to 23% for Samsung and 15% for Apple. But while Samsung's smartphone sales stayed flat and Apple's dipped 14% since last year, Huawei's sales in the first couple of months of 2016 were up 59% from 2015.

That increase was with minimal sales in the US, but Huawei has plans to expand their presence in the states soon. The company has also dedicated $9.2 billion dollars to research and development with the hopes of making a more polished product that can convince customers to switch.

Apple, Samsung, and Huawei did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.