China Explores Strategies For Manufacturing AI Memory Chips Despite US Sanctions: Report

China is looking into ways to independently manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a new generation of AI-specific memory chips, to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency amid sanctions from the U.S., South China Morning Post reported.

Industry insiders reveal that it may be a challenging endeavor to compete with global leaders like SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics SSNLF and Micron Technology MU but the Chinese government is committed to becoming self-reliant in HBMs, regardless of the time it takes.

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading dynamic random access memory (DRAM) manufacturer, is poised to lead the HBM initiative, though it may take up to four years to market the products.

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If Chinese chip makers proceed, they will have to resort to using less advanced technologies to fabricate powerful DRAM chips, which are in high demand globally.

SK Hynix, a global market leader with a 50% share, began mass production of HBM3 in June 2022. The demand for HBM chips is predicted to increase by nearly 60% in 2023, according to a report by tech consultancy TrendForce.

HBM chips are the favored solution for overcoming memory transfer speed limitations due to bandwidth constraints.

Hefei-based CXMT, valued at US$14.5 billion and reportedly planning an IPO this year, did not respond to a request for comment.

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