When the world’s most valuable company starts knocking on doors the US government explicitly told it not to, you know the supply situation is serious. Apple is actively negotiating to source low-end memory chips from two Chinese manufacturers that sit on the Pentagon’s blacklist, a move that reveals just how badly the global memory shortage is squeezing even the most powerful players in tech.
The two suppliers in question are ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC). Apple CEO Tim Cook has personally lobbied the Trump administration for permission to purchase from both firms.
The shortage behind the strategy
The global memory market, specifically DRAM and related low-end memory chips, is in the grip of a supply-demand imbalance that analysts expect to persist until at least 2027. The culprit is familiar: surging demand for AI technologies is consuming memory capacity at a rate manufacturers simply cannot match.
Memory prices have surged dramatically, with reports indicating increases up to 98% in some segments. Apple has already started adjusting prices on iPads and MacBooks in response.
