# Huawei asks some AI-chip customers to find memory themselves

> A shortage of high-bandwidth memory is pushing some Huawei customers toward costly, informal supply routes for its AI chips.

Oossa · 2026-11-03 · https://oossa.com/en/huawei-asks-some-ai-chip-customers-to-find-memory-themselves

Huawei is asking some customers to source memory for its AI chips themselves, as shortages hamper its ability to supply the parts. The Decoder reports, citing The Information, that the company’s Chinese suppliers cannot make enough high-bandwidth memory, or HBM—a type of memory used to move data quickly in AI systems.

The shortage is tied to export restrictions as well as limited local supply. U.S. rules block direct purchases of HBM from Samsung and SK Hynix, which together hold more than 80 percent of the global market. Huawei plans to launch its Ascend 960DT in early 2027. The company says the chip will deliver twice the performance of its current chips; the report does not provide an independent test of that claim.

## How the workarounds operate

A smuggling route described in the report packages HBM with low-cost server processors that fall below the export threshold. The packages are shipped to China through Hong Kong, where workshops remove the memory from the processors. The separation process is fragile and has a high error rate, but the reported profits have made it worthwhile for smugglers.

A broker in Shenzhen told The Information that smuggled HBM3E memory now costs about $4,000 per unit, up from a few hundred dollars a year earlier. Each AI chip needs six to eight units, putting the memory bill alone as high as $32,000 per chip. Those figures describe the reported smuggled market, not a standard price available to all Huawei customers.

## Other sources add to the supply

The informal market also includes older Nvidia graphics processors taken apart for components and surplus inventory from chip designers that cancelled projects or reduced orders. South Korea’s customs authority had identified trade violations worth $560 million by May, already above its record for a full year. A third of the total involved strategic goods, including chips exported without proper authorization or with false declarations.

The figures show how export controls and shortages can create costly routes outside normal procurement. But the report does not say how many Huawei customers have been asked to find their own memory, or how much memory they have secured this way.

## The facts

- Samsung and SK Hynix together control more than 80 percent of the global HBM market.
- Huawei plans to launch its Ascend 960DT in early 2027 and says it will double the performance of its current chips.
- A Shenzhen broker quoted a price of about $4,000 per smuggled HBM3E unit, up from a few hundred dollars a year earlier.
- South Korea’s customs authority had identified $560 million in trade violations by May, with a third involving strategic goods.

## Why it matters

For companies buying Huawei AI chips, being told to source memory themselves could mean higher costs and a less reliable supply; reported smuggled HBM can cost up to $32,000 per chip. How many customers face this situation, and whether they can obtain the needed memory, remains unclear.

## Sources & references

1. [Huawei tells customers to find their own AI chip memory, effectively outsourcing procurement to the black market](https://the-decoder.com/huawei-tells-customers-to-find-their-own-ai-chip-memory-effectively-outsourcing-procurement-to-the-black-market/) – The Decoder, 2026-11-03

Last updated: 2026-11-03