AI chip smugglers exploit export loopholes to move banned HBM to China

Samsung and SK hynix memory is reportedly being bundled with low-end processors, shipped through Hong Kong, then stripped out in Chinese workshops US export controls were built to keep China away from the most advanced AI hardware. Smugglers appear to have found a way around them, and the trick involves cheap server chips and a soldering station. According to a report from Tom’s Hardware, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) made by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix is being repackaged alongside low-end server processors and shipped toward China. The processor is bait. The memory is the prize. The smuggling method reportedly starts by mounting the high-performance HBM on a substrate board. That board is then declared under the classification of the accompanying server processor, not the memory itself.

BeCrypto News shows a short excerpt and links to the publisher. The full report belongs to Crypto Briefing.