Huawei is reportedly developing DRAM manufacturing capability to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor imports.

Evidence is mounting that Huawei is building its own DRAM fabrication plants, based on reports from media outlets and analyst posts on X from sources including Jukan Citrini and Dan Nystedt of TriOrient Investments.

A worldwide shortage of DRAM and its HBM variant has emerged due to dramatically increased demand from Nvidia for HBM in its GPU servers, which are sold to hyperscalers, Neoclouds, and enterprises for AI foundation model training and inference work. The GPUs' host CPUs require DRAM, and other AI accelerator suppliers including AMD and Intel are contributing to this demand surge. This spike in AI-driven memory consumption stems from the widespread adoption of large language models such as ChatGPT since 2022.

Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron supply all HBM and over 85 percent of global DRAM, with smaller players like Nanya and China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), the world's fourth-largest DRAM supplier, also participating. However, CXMT and Huawei both appear on the US government's restricted-entity list and cannot purchase advanced US-based semiconductor fabrication equipment. This technological restriction means their DRAM capabilities lag behind those of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.

The Chinese government has pursued a multi-year strategy for technological self-reliance, with both CXMT and Huawei developing advanced DRAM fabrication capabilities and increasing chip output. CXMT aims to supply chips both domestically and internationally, with Apple reportedly in discussions to adopt its products.

Huawei could use any DRAM chips it produced for its own processors, storage and networking devices, SSD controllers, mobile phones, and smart wearables. The company also requires other types of semiconductor chips.

According to analyst Jukan Citrini, Huawei is building and operating DRAM fabs through a joint venture with SwaySure and plans to develop additional chip types. Citrini reports that Huawei operates at least 11 semiconductor fabrication facilities across various Chinese regions:

- Qingdao Si'En, which makes IoT chips in five fabs

- Fujian Jinhua (JHICC), operated in Fujian

- Pensun Technology (PST), formerly known as Pengxinshu (PXX), which makes mobile chips in two fabs

- SwaySure (SWX), which makes DRAM in possibly three fabs

These entities are government-owned, but "the actual operator behind these fabs is Huawei," according to several industry insiders.

SwaySure manufactures DRAM and previously appointed Yukio Sakamoto as Chief Strategy Officer. Sakamoto had served as a TSMC fab director and president at Japan's Elpida Memory, which filed for bankruptcy and was subsequently acquired by Micron. Sakamoto died in February 2024 at age 76 from a heart attack. When hiring him, SwaySure announced plans to design and manufacture DRAM for data centers, mobile phones, and other applications, with core R&D teams based in China and Japan.

Dan Nystedt reports that Huawei and SwaySure are constructing "a massive DRAM complex in Shenzhen with 140,000 wafers-per-month (wpm) capacity (12-inch) to manufacture 28nm DRAM."

A regulatory filing for SwaySure has circulated widely on X, stating: "Shenzhen Yì Wéi Xù Technology Co., Ltd. was registered and established in Shenzhen in March 2022. Its headquarters is located in Longhua, Shenzhen. It is currently constructing a 12-inch wafer fab line with a process capability of 28nm. Its products mainly focus on DRAM memory, with a planned production capacity of 140,000 wafers per month."

Nystedt identifies Chinese semiconductor equipment manufacturer SiCarrier as Huawei's primary fab partner.

Huawei has established a substantial presence across telecommunications, servers, storage, mobile devices, and smart wearables markets. Vertical integration through in-house DRAM and semiconductor production would provide greater insulation from US technology restrictions and external semiconductor supply constraints and price volatility.

Huawei was contacted for comment on its involvement in DRAM fabrication and will provide updates if the company responds.

Qingdao Si'En operates as a state-owned enterprise under the Qingdao State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). DGGMT operates under the Dongguan SASAC. Pensun Technology, Pengxinshu, and SwaySure are wholly owned by the Shenzhen Major Industry Investment Group (SZMII), which operates under Shenzhen's SASAC. Bloomberg reported in 2023 that the Chinese government established SZMII to support Huawei.