Chinese firms, including Huawei and Cambricon, have raised AI chip prices by up to 50% due to a global shortage of high-bandwidth memory.
Major Chinese technology companies, including Huawei, Cambricon, MetaX, and Iluvatar CoreX, have implemented price hikes for both existing and forthcoming AI chips, with some products experiencing increases of up to 50%, according to reports from Reuters citing informed sources.
Specifically, Huawei has raised the estimated price for its Ascend 950DT chip to over 250,000 yuan (approximately $37,255), reflecting a 20% to 50% increase from the prices quoted to clients just two months ago, depending on contract specifics.
Similarly, Cambricon has adjusted the pricing for its upcoming 690 processor by 20% to 30%, although detailed pricing information remains undisclosed. MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX have also increased their prices.
The price increases are largely attributed to a global shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is essential for AI accelerators due to its role in facilitating rapid data exchange with processors. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security recently enacted new export restrictions on certain types of HBM to China, which has compelled Chinese manufacturers to seek supplies in the gray market, often at significantly higher costs compared to international buyers. This surge in memory costs directly impacts the final prices of AI products.
Additionally, Huawei's existing AI accelerators have seen price increases; for instance, the Ascend 950PR has risen from approximately 60,000 yuan to over 80,000 yuan, while the Ascend 910C's price jumped from about 90,000 yuan to more than 110,000 yuan within the same period.
The ongoing component shortage is not only affecting production costs but also the distribution of available capacities. In a notable move, Iluvatar CoreX doubled its GPU supply to ByteDance to 100,000 units for 2026, reallocating some products originally intended for internal use to meet client demand.
Currently, Huawei leads the supply of AI chips for ByteDance, followed by Cambricon and Iluvatar CoreX. In June, Huawei pledged to release a new generation of Ascend processors each year, aiming to double their performance with each iteration.
