중국 AI 칩 제조사들, 고대역폭 메모리(HBM) 심각한 부족으로 최대 50% 가격 인상

China’s leading AI chipmakers are implementing aggressive price increases across their accelerator products, driven by a deepening shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM)—the specialized component that enables modern AI chips to function effectively. Price hikes range from 20% to 50%, depending on the specific product, reflecting compounding pressures from U.S. export restrictions and a global AI infrastructure buildout that has stretched HBM supply chains to their limits.

Huawei’s Ascend 950DT accelerator card now exceeds 250,000 yuan, approximately $37,255, marking a 20% to 50% increase compared to pricing just two months ago. Older models have seen similar adjustments. Since the start of 2026, the Ascend 950PR has climbed roughly 30% to surpass 80,000 yuan, while the Ascend 910C has risen about 22%, now priced above 110,000 yuan. Expected delivery windows for select models have been delayed until Q4 2026 at the earliest, meaning buyers placing orders today are securing premium-priced hardware with multi-month lead times.

Huawei’s pricing strategy mirrors broader industry trends. Cambricon, another prominent Chinese AI chip designer, has increased the price of its upcoming 690 chip by 20% to 30%. Smaller competitors, including MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX, have implemented comparable increases within the same range.

The pricing surge stems directly from constraints in HBM supply. High-bandwidth memory stacks memory chips vertically and interconnects them using through-silicon vias, delivering the massive data throughput required by large language models and other intensive AI workloads. U.S. export restrictions on advanced HBM, which took effect in December 2024, specifically targeted the memory modules powering cutting-edge AI accelerators. For domestic chipmakers, this effectively severed primary sourcing channels from top-tier suppliers such as SK Hynix and Samsung.

In response, manufacturers have increasingly turned to grey-market channels, where HBM remains available but commands significantly higher premiums and offers reduced supply reliability. With major suppliers having already allocated the majority of their 2026 production capacity, restricted buyers and late entrants are competing for remaining inventory. The strain has forced operational shifts; for example, Iluvatar CoreX doubled its GPU shipments to ByteDance to 100,000 units by diverting inventory originally earmarked for other clients.

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