Following the tightening of U.S. export controls on China, Chinese AI chipmakers have become increasingly reliant on the gray market to source advanced High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Procurement prices there are often several times higher than what buyers outside China pay, and these cost pressures are being passed on to product prices. Market reports indicate that the quoted price for Huawei’s latest Ascend 950DT acceleration chip has surpassed 250,000 RMB (approximately $37,255), marking an increase of up to 50% in just two months.
On the 10th, Reuters exclusively reported, citing unnamed sources, that Huawei has raised the price of the Ascend 950DT to over 250,000 RMB. Depending on contract terms, this represents an increase of 20% to 50% compared to prices two months ago. Huawei had previously stated that the 950DT is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
This wave of price hikes highlights how the global HBM shortage is impacting China’s AI industry. HBM is a critical component for AI computing, with the advanced market currently dominated by SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Micron Technology.
After Washington tightened export controls on certain advanced HBM products to China in December 2024, Chinese chipmakers began relying increasingly on the gray market for supplies. Insiders note that the price of HBM obtained through these channels is often several times higher than the cost for buyers outside China.
Since memory accounts for a significant portion of the production cost for AI acceleration chips, the high cost of sourcing HBM is directly reflected in the final product price.
It is not just Huawei; the quoted price for Cambricon’s next-generation AI chip—tentatively named “690”—has also risen by 20% to 30% over the past two months, and smaller players such as MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX have implemented similar price increases.
Prices for Huawei’s older products have also risen: the Ascend 950PR increased from approximately 60,000 RMB at the start of the year to over 80,000 RMB (a rise of about 30%), while the Ascend 910C rose from around 90,000 RMB to over 110,000 RMB.