China’s AI chipmakers hike prices up to 50% as high-bandwidth memory shortage bites

China’s leading AI chipmakers are pushing through aggressive price increases on their accelerator products, driven by a worsening shortage of high-bandwidth memory, the specialized component that makes modern AI chips actually useful. The increases, ranging from 20% to 50% depending on the product, reflect the compounding pressure of US export restrictions and a global AI infrastructure buildout that has stretched HBM supply chains to their limits. The price tag keeps climbing Huawei’s Ascend 950DT accelerator card now costs more than 250,000 yuan, roughly $37,255. That’s a 20-50% jump compared to quotes from just two months ago. The company’s older models haven’t been spared either. The Ascend 950PR has climbed approximately 30% to exceed 80,000 yuan since the start of 2026. The Ascend 910C has risen about 22%, now priced above 110,000 yuan. Expected availability for some models has been pushed to Q4 2026 at the earliest, meaning companies placing orders today are essentially locking in premium prices for hardware they won’t receive for months. Huawei isn’t alone. Cambricon, one of China’s other prominent AI chip designers, has raised the price of its upcoming 690 chip by 20-30%. ...