Smuggled HBM3E now goes via Hong Kong for splitting, fetching about $4,000 per chip
11/03/2026 — 11/03, 20:20·2 sources (all)·2 reports (all)
Key takeaways
- Smugglers package HBM with low-end server processors, ship it as ordinary compute silicon, route it through Hong Kong, then split the memory…
Latest turnHuawei is telling customers to source the high-performance memory its AI chips need on their own, effectively pushing procurement onto the black market, The Decoder reports. Smugglers are exploiting a loophole in U.S. export rules by bundling HBM with low-end processors, routing shipments through Hong Kong and separating the chips on arrival. Prices for smuggled HBM3E have climbed to roughly $4,000 per unit within a year.
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Huawei is telling customers to source the high-performance memory its AI chips need on their own, effectively pushing procurement onto the black market, The Decoder reports. Smugglers are exploiting a loophole in U.S. export rules by bundling HBM with low-end processors, routing shipments through Hong Kong and separating the chips on arrival. Prices for smuggled HBM3E have climbed to roughly $4,000 per unit within a year.
The DecoderAI score 66According to an investigation by The Information, smugglers are packaging high-bandwidth memory (HBM) together with low-end server processors and exporting them as ordinary computing chips. The components are then shipped to China, where the HBM is removed and recovered, exposing a new loophole in US export controls on advanced semiconductors.
cnBetaAI score 58
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