For some time now, the Artificial intelligence It’s available in virtually every electronic product launched, from TVs to smartphones to home appliances to cameras, among others. Whether they actually use AI or not (these words have become a marketing statement), it’s clear that training them isn’t exactly cheap or easy.
If we talk about memory designed to train learning modelswe need to talk about the HBM Memoriesmemories that have become a necessity for all companies with Artificial Intelligence needs since they offer superior performance to traditional memories intended for domestic use.
Due to the high market demand from companies, many manufacturers focus their efforts on manufacturing this type of memory because, due to its high demand, it allows them to obtain greater economic performance, much higher than that obtained with the manufacturing of traditional memories.
China seems tired of the continued limitations imposed by the US government and has decided to take the lead by advancing the manufacturing of HBM2 Memoriesmemories that, as we mentioned above, are designed for servers that train artificial intelligence language models and high-performance processes.
Two years ahead of schedule
According to DigiTimes, memory manufacturer CXMT has started mass production of HBM2 memory, two years ahead of the timeline initially expected by the community.
CXMT purchased all the components needed to manufacture this type of memory in early 2024, so initially, production is not expected to start until 2026 at the earliest. In the best case, it is possible to start production in just one year, but to do it with good results, the minimum time required is 2.
Unlike processor manufacturing where you have to use lithography processes (machines that China does not have access to due to restrictions by Joe Bien’s government), for the manufacture of HBM memories they are not necessary.
However, this does not mean that it is simple since it requires advanced manufacturing techniques to be able to vertically connect between 8 and 12 memory modules using silicon. While it is true that HBM2 memory is not the most advanced on the market, since both Micron
China reduces its dependence on other countries
The US has been considering for some time the possibility of blocking the sale of HBM memory to China to prevent it from continuing to develop its graphics (it cannot buy the most modern NVIDIA models due to the same limitations) to create its Artificial Intelligence Modelsthe main reason why Joe Biden’s administration keeps banning everything related to China and AI.
With this announcement, China stops depending on other countries to create its graphics and use them to train its AI. While it is true that, as we have commented above, HBM2 is neither the fastest nor the best on the market, it is more than enough for China to start going it alone without depending on the restrictions of other countries.
