Establishment of Chinese semiconductor ‘HBM Alliance’ including Huawei, seeking alternatives to SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics

[비즈니스포스트] Chinese semiconductor companies, including Huawei, are joining forces to commercialize HBM memory, which is mainly used in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, and are receiving government support.

As it is not easy to purchase products from major suppliers such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics due to U.S. regulations, the purpose appears to be to establish a self-sufficiency system in the artificial intelligence-related field through its own technology.

Compiling foreign media reports such as Reuters and The Information on the 26th, it is understood that major Chinese semiconductor companies such as Huawei and Fujian Jinhua have been collaborating to produce HBM memory since last year.

It is reported that these companies are receiving support from the Chinese government with the goal of developing and producing HBM memory with their own technology by 2026.

HBM memory, which will be commercialized by Chinese companies, is expected to be used with Huawei’s artificial intelligence processor. This is because Huawei is the leader in related technology fields locally.

HBM memory is a high-specification memory semiconductor mainly used in GPU (graphics processing unit)-based artificial intelligence semiconductors of companies such as NVIDIA and AMD.

While SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics occupy an overwhelming market share in the global market, U.S. Micron is also accelerating its technology development and production expansion to catch up with its Korean competitors.

The U.S. government did not directly include HBM memory in China’s semiconductor regulations.

However, Huawei is on the US government’s technology export blacklist, so it cannot purchase products such as HBM memory that partially use US technology.

Accordingly, it is analyzed that the company is pursuing commercialization on its own by joining forces with domestic semiconductor companies.

According to The Information, the alliance led by Huawei plans to build two or more HBM memory production lines and have different manufacturers take charge of production, thereby creating an internal competitive structure.

However, realistically, it is not easy to commercialize HBM memory in a short period of time, so it can be seen as an intention to try various possible methods.

The HBM memory developed by the Huawei alliance is expected to lag significantly behind in performance and yield compared to products from companies such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. This is because the technological barrier is high due to the nature of high-end semiconductors.

However, considering the cases in which Chinese companies such as Huawei overcame U.S. regulations and secured 7-nano microprocessing foundry technology, some say that this is a move that may cause concern in other countries.

The U.S. government has recently placed additional restrictions on the export of Nvidia and AMD artificial intelligence semiconductors to China, showing an attitude of actively checking China’s technological advancements in this field. Reporter Kim Yong-won