/Tech1h ago

Apple lobbies the Trump administration to buy DRAM from Chinese chipmaker CXMT amid AI-driven memory shortages

CXMT is currently on the Pentagon's military list

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Rohan Paul@rohanpaul_ai#1257inTech

https://www.ft.com/content/d72a25e2-7bde-4aa9-bd8d-0c4f3d6cb2cb?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Rohan Paul@rohanpaul_ai

FT: Apple is asking Washington for permission to buy DRAM from CXMT, a blacklisted Chinese supplier, because AI server demand has made ordinary device memory painfully expensive.

DRAM is the short-term working memory inside iPhones, Macs, and iPads, while HBM is a stacked, faster version used in AI accelerators, so the AI buildout is pulling factory capacity toward servers and away from consumer gadgets.

Apple’s problem is supplier pressure, because it mainly depends on Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, while CXMT could add cheaper supply from China’s state-backed memory push.

But CXMT sits on the Pentagon’s Chinese Military Company list, which does not block Apple purchases by itself but signals national-security concern and could become far more serious if Commerce adds CXMT to the Entity List.

Apple’s $263B market-value loss was triggered by the memory-cost pressure that forced MacBook and iPad price hikes, showing how AI infrastructure demand is now raising the cost base of everyday consumer devices.

10:12 AM · Jun 28, 2026 · 892 Views

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郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo@mingchikuo

The memory supply-demand gap will keep widening through 2027. That is the real reason Apple is lobbying the White House to keep CXMT off the Entity List.

▌Start with my latest industry checks: The pressure on Apple has shifted from soaring memory costs to a widening supply gap.

1. Of the memory capacity allocated to consumer electronics in 2026, an estimated 15–20% is expected to shift to data centers in 2027, and that share could grow.

2. Due to tight memory (LPDDR) supply, Apple's actual pull-in volume of A20 chips in 2H26–1Q27 could be 10–20% below its original target (though part of that may reflect Apple’s own overbooking).

▌CXMT states in its IPO prospectus that its capacity is far below domestic demand. Given the persistent global memory imbalance, even if Apple’s lobbying succeeds and it buys DRAM from CXMT, that would not materially lower costs or fill the supply gap. Still, with the imbalance widening, Apple has every reason to secure an additional source.

▌This also explains why Apple is being more proactive this time than it was when it evaluated YMTC in 2022. YMTC was mainly about lowering NAND costs; CXMT is about managing DRAM supply risk.

▌Tim Cook is one of the few tech leaders who can still navigate both Washington and Beijing, so this is better handled before he steps down as CEO. Even if the effort goes nowhere, the media coverage can still leave the market with the impression that Apple tried but was constrained by U.S. policy. That may help ease frustration over price hikes and longer delivery times.

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Robert Fahradyan@PatrikBatCrypto

Apple isn't lobbying because memory is cheap.

They're lobbying because supply is becoming the bottleneck.

As AI data centers absorb more LPDDR capacity, consumer devices compete for the same memory. In the end, whoever controls memory supply controls the AI hardware race. Follow the bottlenecks, not the headlines.

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Ben Pouladian@benitoz

@mingchikuo Supply is the issue

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Semiconductor Insider@SemiconductorsX

CXMT has stated in its prospectus that its capacity is far below China's domestic needs. Even if Apple succeeds in buying from it, the volumes would not meaningfully close the overall gap or deliver big cost savings. Still, Apple sees value in securing an additional source as imbalances persist.

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Kristin Prater@kristin_prater

@mingchikuo My strategy analysis !

as follows📈📈 👇 👇 👇

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