Huawei Asks Some Customers to Source AI Chip Memory Themselves
Huawei tells customers to find their own AI chip memory, effectively outsourcing procurement to the black market

- Who
- Huawei
- What
- asks some customers to source memory for its AI chips themselves
- Quote
Huawei is telling some customers to source the memory for its AI chips themselves, effectively pushing buyers onto the black market, The Information reports.
What happened
Huawei is asking some customers to source memory for its AI chips themselves, The Information reports, amid shortages from Chinese suppliers and U.S. export restrictions on direct purchases from Samsung and SK Hynix. Smugglers reportedly route HBM to China through Hong Kong alongside low-performance server processors. A Shenzhen broker says smuggled HBM3E has risen to around $4,000 per unit; each AI chip needs six to eight units.
Read next
See the full storyHuawei Asks Some Customers to Source Memory for Its AI ChipsThe story so far
Huawei is asking some customers to source memory for its AI chips themselves, The Information reports, as shortages from Chinese suppliers and U.S. export restrictions limit direct purchases from Samsung and SK Hynix. The request shifts responsibility for obtaining memory to those buyers. The report says smugglers route high-bandwidth memory into China through Hong Kong, alongside low-performance server processors. A Shenzhen broker said smuggled HBM3E costs around $4,000 per unit; each AI chip requires six to eight units.
Keep up with AI, one email a day
Model releases, price changes and compute developments, with original sources. Free, confirmed by email, and easy to unsubscribe. Read a past issue · 2026-11-03
