In the field of hardware development for Artificial Intelligence (AI) , China is moving forward with the hand brake . The lack of access to extreme ultraviolet photolithography equipment (EUV) , which is crucial for designing and manufacturing advanced chips, significantly hampers Chinese chip manufacturers’ ability to produce GPUs that can compete with those developed by industry giants like NVIDIA , AMD , and other Western companies. This technological gap poses a considerable challenge for China as it strives to establish a self-sufficient semiconductor industry.
Furthermore, Chinese chip manufacturers currently lag behind their South Korean counterparts, such as Samsung and SK Hynix , as well as Micron Technology in the production of advanced memory solutions . GPUs for AI heavily rely on HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips, which are pivotal for maximizing performance. For instance, the total bandwidth of HBM3 memory chips found in cutting-edge NVIDIA or AMD GPUs exceeds 819 GB/s , whereas DDR5 and GDDR6X memories only manage to achieve modest speeds of 70.4 GB/s and 96 GB/s , respectively. Notably, the upcoming HBM4 and HBM3E memories promise even greater performance enhancements. As it stands, Chinese manufacturers have yet to produce such advanced memory chips, although recent reports indicate that Huawei may soon change this landscape.
Huawei Plans to Propel China Forward in Memory Production
According to a report from SCMP , the Chinese state media outlet Securities Times has hinted that Huawei is on the verge of unveiling a technological breakthrough aimed at lessening China’s dependence on foreign HBM memory chips. The announcement is expected to be made shortly during the Financial 2025 Application Forum being held in Shanghai.
<img alt="Innovation in memory technologies is critical for AI progress." width="375" height="142" src="https://i.blogs.es/32b524/estrellas-ap/375_142.jpeg"/>The complexity of HBM3E memories highlights the challenges in the semiconductor industry.
While specific details are scarce at this time, it is reasonable to predict that Huawei aims to produce HBM3 and HBM3E memory chips . Manufacturing these advanced integrated circuits is intricate, involving the stacking of several DRAM chips and the implementation of an interface between the XPU (Extended Processing Unit) and the densely packed HBM chips. A notable point is that in a typical HBM3E stack, the XPU and HBM memory are interconnected through more than 1,000 drivers , showcasing the complexity of the technology.
Currently, companies like SK Hynix , Samsung , and Micron are producing 12-layer HBM3E memories on a large scale, albeit with varying degrees of success. Both SK Hynix and Samsung are set to scale up production of HBM4 chips in the latter half of 2025 , while Micron is expected to follow suit in 2026 . Meanwhile, CXMT (Changxin Memory Technologies), a Chinese firm specialized in memory production, plans to launch its first HBM3E chips in 2027 . This timeline suggests that while advancements are on the horizon, a competitive landscape may take time to fully materialize.
As it stands, SK Hynix holds a dominant position in the HBM memories market, controlling approximately 70% of the share, while Samsung and Micron account for the remainder. Emerging Chinese chip manufacturers like Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) and CXMT are attempting to penetrate this lucrative market through aggressive pricing strategies . Notably, CXMT has ramped up its production capacity of DRAM chips nearly fivefold in the past four years, enabling it to capture an impressive 9% of the global market share.
For more detailed insights, please refer to the full article by SCMP linked above.
This ongoing race in semiconductor technology is crucial for countries looking to enhance their technological sovereignty . With Huawei poised to make significant strides in memory chip production, China may soon overcome its current challenges, potentially altering the competitive landscape of the global semiconductor market.