Huawei is asking some customers to find their own high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for its AI chips, according to The Information, as supply shortages and U.S. export restrictions constrain its access to the components. Huawei’s Chinese suppliers cannot meet demand, while direct purchases from South Korean manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix are restricted by U.S. rules. The two companies together account for more than 80% of the global HBM market, the report says.
The shortage comes as Huawei plans to launch its Ascend 960DT early next year. The company says the chip will deliver twice the performance of its current products.
Smugglers are reportedly exploiting an export-rule loophole by packaging HBM with low-performance server processors that fall below the relevant export threshold. The packages are sent to China through Hong Kong, where workshops separate the memory from the processors. The process is prone to errors, but the reported profits have made it worthwhile.
A broker in Shenzhen told The Information that smuggled HBM3E has risen in price from a few hundred dollars to around $4,000 per unit in a year. Each AI chip requires six to eight units, putting the memory cost alone as high as $32,000.
Other sources of supply include older Nvidia GPUs dismantled for parts and excess inventory from chip designers that cancelled projects or reduced orders. South Korea’s customs authority had identified trade violations worth $560 million by May, exceeding the previous full-year record. About a third involved strategic goods, including chips exported without authorization or declared incorrectly.
Sources: The Decoder.