Smugglers move Samsung and SK Hynix HBM into China packaged with low-end server chips, The Information reports
The report says the packages are classed as server processors to get around export rules and the memory is desoldered in China; it is a single press report and the companies have not commented in the coverage.
Why it matters
US export rules judge a package by its processor, not its memory, and the report says smugglers are exploiting that to move high-bandwidth memory into China. SBS, summarising The Information, says the recovered HBM goes mainly to Huawei customers, and that Huawei has told some customers its next flagship chip, the Ascend 960DT, will carry Samsung and SK Hynix HBM. HBM is the scarcest part of an AI accelerator, so this route matters more than chip smuggling headlines suggest. Watch for a US rule change on packaged memory and responses from Samsung, SK Hynix and Huawei.
Key facts
- Source: The Information, summarised by SBS
- HBM is packaged with low-end server processors
- Packages are classed as server processors under US rules
- Memory is desoldered in China; failure rate is high
- Recovered HBM goes mainly to Huawei customers
- Huawei told customers the Ascend 960DT will carry Samsung and SK Hynix HBM