Chinese AI chip manufacturers have increased prices by 20% to 50% over the past two months. This surge is driven by the rising global cost of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is essential for AI computing and currently in short supply.
Huawei has raised the price of its Ascend 950DT accelerator to over ¥250,000 ($37,260). The company also increased the price of the Ascend 950PR model from approximately ¥60,000 to over ¥80,000, while the older Ascend 910C model rose from ¥90,000 to over ¥110,000.
Other major players, including Cambricon, MetaX, and Iluvatar CoreX, have also implemented price hikes ranging from 20% to 30%. These adjustments come amid US export restrictions that limit China's access to advanced semiconductors and HBM technology.
To mitigate reliance on external suppliers, Chinese firms are accelerating domestic production of high-speed memory. Huawei plans to integrate its proprietary HiBL 1.0 and HiZQ 2.0 technologies into the Ascend 950 series, while CXMT has tested HBM3 memory for production.
