The ongoing memory chip shortage is forcing leading PC makers to consider sources outside of the traditional big three suppliers — Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix. According to Nikkei, sources say that Dell and HP have started qualifying DRAM from CXMT, while Acer and Asus are asking their Chinese partners to source Chinese-made memory chips — a departure from the usual, where manufacturers would source key components like processors, GPUs, screens, and memory, while the contract partners handled less critical parts and final assembly.
AI tech companies have been pouring money into AI infrastructure build-outs, with the major memory manufacturers allocating more of their production lines to the more lucrative HBM. This means that manufacturing capacity for the more price-sensitive consumer market has gone down, with not enough memory chips getting delivered to satisfy global demand. This is where Chinese memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and NAND chip manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) come in, with the two companies reportedly increasing their output to fill the gap in consumer demand.
