Huawei tells customers to source AI chip memory on their own, pushing them to black market
Huawei is instructing customers to independently procure high-performance memory for its AI chips, effectively driving them to the black market due to U.S. export restrictions. Smugglers exploit a loophole by bundling HBM with low-end processors, shipping through Hong Kong, and separating the chips on site. Prices for smuggled HBM3E memory have surged to around $4,000 per unit in the past year.
Why it matters: Reveals a concrete, recent development in AI hardware supply chains under export controls, with direct implications for industry and geopolitics.