A report by reveals that Chinese companies are bypassing U.S. export restrictions on HBM memory by importing it bundled with disposable, low-performance server CPUs. These integrated systems are shipped from Taiwan and South Korea via Hong Kong.
Under December 2024 regulations, integrated systems are classified by processor performance rather than memory specs. Once in , specialized firms extract the HBM, despite high failure rates. Smuggled stacks now cost $4,000, up from a few hundred.
China lacks the tech for competitive HBM, with yielding only 20-30% for HBM3E. To fuel AI accelerators, firms are also disassembling restricted RTX 5090 cards, prompting to offer a performance-adjusted RTX 5090D V2 specifically for the region.