Huawei is reportedly building a consortium of memory producers to build high bandwidth memory (HBM) to break free of Western sanctions. HBM is crucially important for AI and HPC processors because no matter how much compute power they have, performance is often limited by memory bandwidth. Huawei understands this perfectly, so it is now backing the development of HBM2 memory at one China-based DRAM maker, according to The Information.
The Huawei-led consortium is reportedly backed by the Chinese government and includes several other Chinese semiconductor companies, including memory maker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, as well as specialists in advanced chip packaging. The consortium is currently developing HBM2 memory, which is generations behind what market leaders often use. The facilities even have two production lines. Huawei reportedly aims to complete development and start mass production of HBM2 memory by 2026.
