Definition
HBM is a specialized, ultra-fast memory chip stacked directly next to AI processors, and it is required for training and running today's largest AI models. Production is concentrated in just a couple of companies and packaging facilities, making it a single point of failure — and a lever — for the entire AI industry's supply chain.
Why it matters
As governments extend export controls beyond AI chips themselves, HBM's extreme production concentration means a shortage, trade restriction, or single-company disruption could throttle AI development globally, a risk policy leads should track alongside chip export rules.