China's memory chip makers have gotten so powerful they can now say no to Huawei

[Arthur86]

A Reuters investigation found that Chinese memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, spent months hiking prices on Huawei, one of China's largest technology companies, and held firm even when Huawei demanded relief. Tensions boiled over in June when CXMT abruptly ordered engineers from a Huawei linked equipment vendor to pack up and leave its research and development zone in Hefei, a clash Reuters says reflects a power struggle between CXMT and Huawei rather than a simple business dispute

CXMT has risen to become the world's fourth biggest maker of memory chips, the DRAM variety used in smartphones, laptops and servers, alongside its flash memory counterpart Yangtze Memory Technologies, or YMTC. Explosive global demand for AI servers has flipped memory chips from a low margin commodity business into one where Chinese producers can now set prices from a position of real strength, after years of relying on government funding while racking up losses

This newfound leverage is putting both companies on a collision course with Washington. The Pentagon has designated both CXMT and YMTC as Chinese military companies over what it calls their role in aiding China's military civil fusion strategy, a charge both firms deny, and YMTC is already on the US Entity List, restricting its access to American origin equipment and software. Congress is reportedly debating further restrictions even as both companies race toward blockbuster IPOs

China S Memory Chip Makers Ride Ai Boom To New Power And Us Scrutiny 126072400544 1www.business-standard.com

[Brooke_19]

A Chinese chipmaker having enough leverage to tell Huawei no is a genuinely remarkable shift in the domestic supply chain balance of power

[Ronan_34]

The AI server demand boom flipping memory from commodity to leverage business almost overnight is a fascinating side effect of the whole AI buildout