Memory costs have forced some of the largest PC makers to seek RAM supply from an unexpected source: China-based memory makers. The problem for U.S. buyers is that Uncle Sam isn’t ready to let a Chinese brand break up the memory cartel that continues to keep prices high. Major PC brands—Acer, HP, and Asus—are reportedly seeking solace from their memory woes in the welcoming arms of CXMT, a relatively new Chinese brand that’s trying to expand its consumer DRAM capacity. Nikkei Asiafirst reported on the “small amounts” of memory these companies are adding to new laptops that are—currently—only available in Asia. CXMT has also worked with component makers like Corsair on desktop PC-ready DRAM. The company is trying to expand its memory footprint. CXMT and other growing Chinese brands are trying to capitalize on today’s sky-high PC component prices to muscle their way into segments like GPUs and memory. CXMT made waves late last month with a blockbuster $486 billion debut on the Shanghai stock exchange. It’s clear the company wants to become a major player in the RAM race, especially since most other semiconductor companies have dedicated most of their capacity to producing HBM (high-bandwidth memory) for Big Tech’s increasingly unpopular AI hyperscaler buildout.