Huawei and Wuhan Xinxin to develop high-bandwidth memory chips amid US restrictions

Huawei Technologies has teamed up with Chinese foundry Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to develop high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, according to sources, as these devices have become an indispensable component in the computing infrastructure used for artificial intelligence projects.

This initiative also involves mainland integrated circuit packaging firms Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Tech and Tongfu Microelectronics, which are tasked to provide the so-called Chip on Wafer on Substrate – an advanced packaging technology for stacking different types of semiconductors, such as graphics processing units and HBM chips, on a single package, the sources said.

Neither Huawei nor Wuhan Xinxin immediately replied to requests for comment on Sunday. US-blacklisted Huawei’s move into the HBM chip space would mark its latest effort to defy Washington’s tech sanctions. The Shenzhen-based company made a surprise comeback in the 5G smartphone market last August, when it released a handset powered by a 7-nanometre processor a breakthrough that was lauded on the mainland, but sparked intense scrutiny from Washington in light of existing tech access restrictions.

While China remains in the early stage of HBM chip development, its progress is expected to be closely watched by analysts and industry insiders amid Washington’s tech restrictions in semiconductors and AI.