China's AI Chips and Export Controls: Ascend, SMIC — 2026-09-10
Huawei has raised prices on its top-tier AI chips by 60% due to severe supply constraints, while Biren Technology reported a staggering 2,000% year-over-year revenue surge as US export controls push buyers toward domestic alternatives. Simultaneously, a landmark trial in Brooklyn has opened, with prosecutors labeling Huawei a "criminal enterprise," underscoring the intensifying legal and technological friction between Washington and Beijing.
China's AI Chips and Export Controls: Ascend, SMIC — 2026-09-10
Top developments
Huawei raises Ascend prices by 60% amid supply crunch
On September 10, Bloomberg reported that Huawei Technologies Co. notified clients of significant price increases—up to 60%—for its most advanced AI accelerators this summer. This move reflects a market where demand for domestic compute is rapidly outstripping supply during the ongoing data center boom, signaling Huawei's growing pricing power as Nvidia’s presence in China wanes
Biren Technology posts 2,000% revenue growth
Tom’s Hardware reported on September 9 that Chinese AI accelerator supplier Biren Technology achieved 2,000% year-over-year revenue growth in the first half of 2026. The surge is attributed to the effective exit of Nvidia and AMD from the Chinese market due to export controls, allowing homegrown chips to capture significant market share previously held by US firms
Huawei Brooklyn trial opens with "criminal enterprise" label
On September 9, a federal trial against Huawei began in Brooklyn, New York, where prosecutors described the company as a "criminal enterprise." This legal development coincides with Huawei’s central role in China’s AI-chip push, highlighting the dual-track nature of the US-China tech conflict: judicial pressure in the US alongside technological competition in China
HBM shortage identified as new bottleneck for Chinese AI chips
Local media outlets, including Bannedbook, reported on September 10 that global High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) supply tensions are becoming a critical bottleneck for Chinese AI chip manufacturers. While logic die production may be ramping up, the scarcity of HBM—essential for high-performance AI inference and training—is limiting the final output of chips like Huawei’s Ascend series and Cambricon’s accelerators
Local view
Chinese financial media and tech analysts are focusing on the "price-volume" paradox facing domestic chipmakers. Reports from Sina Finance and Zhihu highlight that while companies like Cambricon and Moore Threads are seeing order books filled for three years, the "good enough" narrative is shifting toward "high-performance scarcity." Analysts note that the 60% price hike by Huawei is not just about margins but reflects the true cost of bypassing US sanctions and securing limited HBM supplies, a sentiment echoed in discussions on Weibo regarding advanced packaging constraints
Context & numbers
- Price Increase: Huawei’s top-tier AI chips saw a 60% price hike in summer 2026.
- Revenue Growth: Biren Technology reported 2,000% YoY revenue growth in H1 2026.
- Market Share: Domestic solutions are expected to take nearly 90% of China's high-end AI chip sales in 2026, leaving overseas suppliers with about 10%.
- Cambricon Performance: Cambricon reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 5.996 billion and net profit of RMB 2.311 billion.
On the radar
- DeepSeek-Huawei Integration: Continued monitoring of DeepSeek’s reported 160,000-unit order for Huawei Ascend chips, which remains a key indicator of large-scale domestic adoption.
- HBM Supply Chain: Watch for announcements from Chinese memory makers (like CXMT) regarding HBM3 or HBM4 breakthroughs, as this is currently the primary hardware constraint for Ascend and Cambricon production.
- Brooklyn Trial Verdicts: The outcome of the ongoing federal trial in Brooklyn could influence future US regulatory stances on Huawei’s global operations, even if it doesn't immediately change chip export rules.
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