What we know so far: HP is reportedly turning to China to help address supply chain issues stemming from the ongoing global memory shortage. Tae Kim, a senior technology writer for Barron's, claims the company's management recently told Bank of America that it is qualifying additional memory suppliers from China.
To be clear, this isn't definitive confirmation that HP is going to source memory from smaller providers – but qualifying additional suppliers is the first step toward that eventuality.
As Kim correctly highlights, memory chips are more akin to commodities that can be easily replaced rather than proprietary AI chips like those from Nvidia. This means it'd be relatively easy for a customer like HP to supplement components from major suppliers like Samsung, Micron, or SK Hynix with inventory from smaller Chinese manufacturers. And frankly, most consumers likely would not care who supplied the memory chips in their products so long as they work as advertised and don't cost a fortune.
HP management told BofA they are qualifying additional memory suppliers from China
– tae kim (@firstadopter) January 8, 2026
What I wrote yesterday: "Unlike the proprietary AI chips made by Nvidia, memory chips are commodities, meaning they can be easily replaced. There is a higher degree of disruption risk. It may be a… pic.twitter.com/VNWvebj52g
Kim said it could take a year or more to happen, but the potential for aggressive expansion by lesser known Chinese brands is very real.
The ongoing AI boom continues to negatively impact multiple technology branches. With supplies already scarce, some system builders have started panic buying what is left – a situation that could extend the shortage through 2026 and possibly deep into 2027.
Consumers are already seeing significantly higher prices on DDR5 memory, and that's just the start. Future smartphones could very well ship with less memory than the model you are currently using, but without the price cut you would expect. Premium models with generous amounts of memory, meanwhile, could become obsolete.
Memory makers could counter the shortage by simply increasing production, although by the time they build additional factories to make more chips, the shortage could very well be in the history books and they'd be stuck with too much capacity and too few buyers.
One also has to wonder what sort of implications tariffs would have on memory chips imported from China, but that's a discussion for a different day.
Image credit: Getty Images, Samsung