Semiconductor
Huawei HiSilicon increases chip price following strong AI demand
Huawei HiSilicon reportedly increases chip price after seeing strong demand for China’s AI computing power. This new move signals that the Chinese AI industry has begun to accelerate in the semiconductor market, leading to a major recovery.
HiSilicon is Huawei’s subsidiary that focuses on in-house fabless chips and IC design. It works on researching and designing specialized processors that can fuel Huawei’s products rather than solely manufacturing them itself.
DigiTimes reported (via – @SemiconductorX) that Huawei HiSilicon raised the chip price for some products, as the demand for Chinese AI computing power increases.
Following the news, the industry insiders and analysts believe that the new step taken by HiSilicon will result in a gradual recovery of the Chinese AI chip industry from its long-running recession.
At the same time, it can help Huawei and other chipmakers in China to boost their strength and stabilize their position in the semiconductor race against their global rivals.
The increase in chip prices came into effect due to three factors. These are as follows:
- Strong demand for Chinese AI computing power
- Rise in supply chain costs
- Broader recovery in China’s semiconductor market
Since 2019, China and its semiconductor industry have dealt with a tough time. It faced not only challenges in advanced chip making but also low margins and weak demand.
AI era now, though, eventually giving them control over chip pricing as well as growth momentum. China no longer wants to rely on US technologies and aims to develop its own AI empire. Thus, chip + component orders are increasing within the supply chain, leading to a whole new progress for the corresponding industry.
It seems to be part of China’s new plan, which aims to make the country self-reliant and help it build a self-sufficient tech infrastructure. From training AI LLMs to using them in data centers and even edge devices.
(Image Credits: Huawei)
