China’s biggest memory chipmaker, CXMT, plans to start making HBM3E, an advanced memory used in AI chips, even though only 20% to 30% of the chips it makes are usable. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters , which reported the details on Wednesday, 28 October. TNW has not independently verified the report.

CXMT has sent HBM3E samples to several Chinese AI chip designers, the people said. It expects to begin limited production within the next two months, one of them said. The Information first reported CXMT’s HBM3E plans; the yield figures and timeline are new from Reuters.

A yield of 20% to 30%

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks memory chips on top of each other so they can pass data quickly to AI processors. It is a key part of the chips that train and run large language models.

Yield is the share of chips from a production line that meet specifications. CXMT’s is about 20% to 30%, the people told Reuters. SK Hynix, the market leader, gets around 70%.…