Rumor
HBM supply is reportedly a key bottleneck for Huawei's operations.
Friday, November 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
The tweet suggests that the supply of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is acting as a significant bottleneck in the semiconductor supply chain, specifically highlighting its impact on Huawei.
Context
A critical bottleneck is emerging for Huawei's AI ambitions: a severe shortage of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM). This is driven by a global supply crunch, with market leaders SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics facing overwhelming demand. SK Hynix has already reported its 2025 HBM capacity is almost sold out. This market tightness is compounded by new U.S. export controls that took full effect at the end of December 2024, effectively cutting off China's access to the advanced memory needed for AI accelerators.
Huawei is now operating on a finite stockpile of HBM, largely secured from Samsung just before the ban. Reports indicate China accumulated a significant stockpile, with 11.4 million stacks from Samsung alone. This inventory is expected to be depleted by late 2025, creating a significant production cliff for its Ascend AI chips. With domestic Chinese suppliers unable to meet demand, HBM supply is now the primary constraint on Huawei's AI hardware expansion.
Sources (29)
Huawei Ascend Production Ramp: Die Banks, TSMC ...Stop Selling the RopePushing the Limits: Huawei's AI Chip Tests U.S. Export ...Huawei set to ship 910C AI chips at scale, signaling shift in ...Understanding the Biden Administration's Updated Export ...US Department of Commerce Significantly Expands Controls ...BIS Seeks to Further Strengthen Export Controls Targeting ...Nvidia supplier SK Hynix says HBM chips almost sold out ...
Related Companies
SK Hynix
000660
Samsung Electronics
005930