Apple seeks US approval to buy memory chips from blacklisted CXMT
Apple is asking the Trump administration for permission to purchase DRAM chips from CXMT, a Chinese memory manufacturer placed on a Pentagon blacklist over alleged ties to the military. According to the Financial Times, the Cupertino company is seeking federal clearance to secure working memory as global supply constraints and soaring component prices threaten its consumer electronics margins.
The lobbying effort follows a $263 billion drop in Apple's market value after the company raised prices on MacBooks and iPads to offset rising memory costs. AI server demand is pulling factory capacity toward high-bandwidth memory for accelerators, exacerbating shortages for consumer devices. CXMT is not currently legally barred from Apple’s supply chain, but any government approval would face national security scrutiny. Other hardware makers, including Sony and Nintendo, have also delayed product launches or increased prices as DRAM accounts for more than 30% of the materials cost for low-end smartphones.
From the sources (25 posts)
@jukan05Apple is lobbying the Trump administration to allow it to buy memory from CXMT, according to the FT.
@financialjuiceApple lobbies Trump administration for approval to purchase memory chips from CXMT - FT
@tradfi*APPLE LOBBYING TRUMP ADMIN TO ALLOW PURCHASE OF CHINESE CXMT DRAM CHIPS: FT $AAPL
@zephyr_z9RT @jukan05: Apple is lobbying the Trump administration to allow it to buy memory from CXMT, according to the FT.
@jukan05
@jukan05@BenBajarin Recently, Samsung has been supplying a lot of DRAM to Apple.
@jukan05@BenBajarin Wasn’t SK hynix originally the primary supplier?
@jukan05@Alex_Intel_ That would be like voluntarily abandoning the U.S. memory industry.
@zerohedgeApple Seeks US Clearance to Buy Memory Chips From CXMT: FT
@firstsquawkAPPLE SEEKS U.S. APPROVAL TO SOURCE MEMORY CHIPS FROM CHINA’S CXMT: FT Apple is seeking U.S. government clearance to purchase memory chips from Chinese DRAM maker CXMT, according to the Financial Times. The move aims to ease supply shorta
@ftApple seeks to buy memory chips from blacklisted Chinese company
@zephyr_z9The problem isn't just the price Getting enough DRAM is hard Secondly, this is China only They have to compete with Huawei (which can use CXMT and also has its own memory fab thru SwaySure JV) Apple can't maintain its market share in China
@negligible_cap*APPLE SEEKS US CLEARANCE TO BUY MEMORY CHIPS FROM CXMT: FT Tim Cook has spent months buttering up Trump for this very moment
@firstadopterTim Cook crying to WSJ about memory prices. There are no coincidences. See FT story below
@techmemeSources: Apple is lobbying the Trump admin for clearance to buy memory chips from US-blacklisted Chinese company CXMT to ease pressure from rising chip prices (Financial Times) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)
@photoncap애플/구글이 중국 메모리 사용 확정 뉴스는 아니고 설인가봐요 아직?
@zephyr_z9@escvel0city11 yeah, I doubt USG will agree
@andrewcurran_@jukan05 @jiwanpark1014 Commerce just deferred from adding them to the entities list.
@bulltheoryioApple is reportedly considering buying memory chips from a blacklisted Chinese company, according to the Financial Times. Apple is reportedly lobbying the Trump administration for approval to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technolog
@jukan05Listen to what @GavinSBaker said on All-In at 1:04:06: “DRAM is the most important bottleneck, and Elon is focusing the Terafab on memory because he believes memory is the most important bottleneck. Not lasers, not capacitors, not power se
@stockmktnewzApple $AAPL is seeking clearance from the Trump administration to buy memory chips from CXMT, a Chinese company blocklisted in the U.S. due to its alleged ties to the Chinese military - Financial Times
@markgurmanPower On: Apple’s sweeping price increases bring home the costs of the AI era for many people for the first time.
@markgurmanThere’s no question that ChatGPT has created value. But the costs are now becoming real to many customers for the first time: pricier devices, tighter component availability and an industry now shaped around serving AI infrastructure rather
@markgurmanThe irony is that Apple never wanted this version of the AI era in the first place. Apple has mostly leaned into running as much AI on-device as possible and has only recently dramatically expanded into cloud processing for the new Siri AI.
@kalshiJUST IN: Apple is seeking Trump's approval to buy chips from China