Smugglers Solder HBM onto Low-End Chips to Bypass Export Controls

• Smugglers pair Samsung and SK hynix HBM with low-end processors to bypass export regulations.
• Shenzhen workshops heat and pry off the HBM, selling it for about $4,000 a stack, mainly to Huawei.
• This method exploits a December 2024 BIS exclusion for co-packaged chips with a low-end dominant function.
• The smuggler owns a chip design firm that builds cheap, low-performing processors.
• The practice is reportedly not new and continues to be used.