CXMT and YMTC gain ground in the global memory market

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) became the world’s fourth-largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) supplier by market share in 2025, with 7.7% according to its prospectus as reported by Reuters. Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC) increased its share of global NAND flash-memory revenue, a form of non-volatile storage, from 8% to 13% between the first quarters of 2025 and 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.

These gains do not mean that the two companies have caught up with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix or Micron across the most advanced technologies. They do show that the Chinese manufacturers now have sufficient volume, customers and financial resources to influence some negotiations. Their rise reflects industrial progress, but also a global imbalance between memory supply and demand from AI data centres.

Rapidly increasing market shares

Counterpoint, cited by Seoul Economic Daily, estimated that CXMT captured 8% of global DRAM revenue in the first quarter of 2026, up from about 3% a year earlier. Samsung remained first with 38%, followed by SK Hynix with 29% and Micron with 22%.

In NAND, Counterpoint assigned 29% of revenue to Samsung, 18% to SK Hynix and Solidigm, and 14% to Kioxia. YMTC, Micron and SanDisk were all close to 13%.

These indicators measure revenue, not necessarily physical output. Market share can rise because prices increase without an equivalent rise in shipments. Capacity expressed in silicon wafers also depends on die size, density and yield.

Counterpoint and TrendForce use different scopes

Counterpoint estimates that the global NAND market reached $46 billion in the first quarter of 2026, nearly twice the previous quarter and 3.5 times the level recorded a year earlier. A separate Counterpoint publication covering market share assigns 13% of revenue to YMTC.

TrendForce estimates combined revenue of more than $38.9 billion for the five groups it tracks, up 83.7% quarter on quarter. Its table covers Samsung, SK Hynix and Solidigm, Kioxia, Micron and SanDisk, without including YMTC.

The public pages of the two firms do not provide enough methodological detail to explain this difference. Their results should therefore not be added together or compared line by line. They nevertheless support two common conclusions: prices increased rapidly and storage for AI servers became a major market driver.

AI also stimulates mainstream memory

Artificial-intelligence accelerators use high-bandwidth memory (HBM), integrated immediately next to the accelerator. Data centres also require system DRAM and large quantities of NAND for solid-state drives (SSDs), storage devices based on flash memory.

Counterpoint estimates that enterprise SSDs represented 43% of NAND revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and forecasts that the share could exceed 60% before year-end. The latter figure remains a projection. TrendForce also links market growth to cloud-provider orders and a shortage of conventional hard drives, which is shifting some demand towards SSDs.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are meanwhile directing more capacity towards HBM and their most profitable products. This creates additional room for DDR4 and DDR5 memory, mobile products and some NAND categories supplied by CXMT and YMTC.

Real pricing power that is difficult to generalise

A Reuters investigation published on July 24, 2026, describes a shift in bargaining power between Chinese memory manufacturers and their largest customers. The agency says it interviewed more than a dozen executives, engineers, suppliers and US officials while examining about 50 Chinese documents.

According to three anonymous sources cited by Reuters, CXMT signed a five-year agreement worth more than $7 billion with ByteDance. Another contract, valued at about $3 billion, was reportedly signed with Tencent. The companies have not publicly confirmed these amounts.

Reuters also reports that some 64-gigabyte CXMT DDR5 server-memory modules were priced above a comparable Samsung product estimated at around $1,240 per unit. CXMT’s exact price, volumes, warranties and complete specifications were not disclosed.

This isolated comparison shows that a Chinese supplier can obtain stronger terms when supply is constrained. It does not prove that CXMT is generally more expensive than Samsung. Immediate availability, prior validation by local customers and access to Chinese buyers may matter as much as technical performance.

Different frames across the sources

The consulted sources describe similar progress but assign it different meanings. Reuters emphasises the commercial power of CXMT and YMTC, Chinese public financing and the effects of US restrictions. Its investigation is detailed, although several sensitive claims rely on anonymous sources. Seoul Economic Daily mainly presents Chinese growth as a risk for Samsung and SK Hynix, reflecting a Korean industrial perspective.

Counterpoint, TrendForce and Yole Group focus on market share, pricing cycles and manufacturing equipment. These firms also sell research and consulting services: their public reports provide relevant indicators without always disclosing fully reproducible methodologies.

CXMT’s official prospectus, published by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is a direct regulatory source but was prepared by the company while raising capital. It outlines expansion plans and the associated risks. According to Reuters, Micron is also advocating additional restrictions on its Chinese competitors, a position that should be considered alongside its commercial interest.

The domestic market supports production ramp-up

CXMT and YMTC have received financing from China’s National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, commonly known as the Big Fund, and from local governments. This capital helped build fabs and fund research without guaranteeing high yields, low power consumption or lasting reliability.

According to Reuters, Chinese authorities asked both companies to prioritise domestic buyers, while some state-owned companies were limiting foreign-memory purchases. These claims rely on anonymous sources, and no public directive establishing a universal ban was cited. It is therefore more accurate to describe a policy preference for domestic suppliers.

According to its prospectus, CXMT’s revenue reached 61.8 billion yuan in 2025 and 50.8 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, up 719.1% year on year. A substantial share of that increase nevertheless came from rising DRAM prices.

CXMT raised 57.92 billion yuan, about $8.6 billion at the exchange rate cited by Reuters, through its listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market, the exchange’s technology-focused board. The proceeds are intended to finance capacity, processes and research without guaranteeing the yields or commissioning schedule of new production lines.

HBM remains the main technological constraint

CXMT is developing HBM, but Reuters estimates, based on five sources, that its products remain about two generations behind those of SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron. No comprehensive public qualification results are available to measure that gap precisely.

HBM requires multiple dies to be stacked, connected vertically and integrated through advanced packaging with effective thermal management. It must then be qualified with a specific accelerator. A prototype or production announcement therefore guarantees neither high volume, competitive power consumption nor data-centre reliability.

Equipment advances, except in lithography

Yole Group estimates that Chinese equipment accounted for 23.2% of semiconductor-fab tools used in the country in 2025, up from 8% in 2021. It forecasts 39% by 2030, although this remains a projection dependent on qualification of local machinery.

Chinese suppliers are advancing in plasma etching, thin-film deposition, polishing, cleaning and wafer thinning. Lithography remains their main weakness. CXMT and YMTC still use foreign deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment, including systems supplied by ASML.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have access to extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems for some advanced steps. ASML’s EUV machines are not exported to China. Multiple-patterning DUV processes can support further miniaturisation, but increase complexity, costs and defect risk.

Expansion could reverse the cycle

Reuters reports that CXMT is building fabs in Shanghai and Hefei and considering a third project. According to three anonymous sources, the projects could raise capacity above 600,000 wafers per month from about 300,000 currently. YMTC is also reportedly preparing additional facilities. Not all schedules and capacity figures have been publicly confirmed.

Announced capacity is not equivalent to available production: construction, equipment installation, yield improvement and product qualification can take several years.

If completed, the projects could ease the market from 2027. They could also recreate oversupply, drive prices down and weaken the commercial power gained in a tight market. The memory industry regularly alternates between constrained supply and excess production.

A new balance, not yet a change in leadership

For server, PC and smartphone manufacturers, additional suppliers can diversify procurement, provided that components meet requirements for compatibility, energy consumption, reliability and support duration.

CXMT and YMTC have changed scale without overturning the technological hierarchy. Their influence reflects industrial progress, Chinese support and the current imbalance between supply and demand. Its durability should be assessed through yields, independent customer qualification, energy efficiency and actual fab commissioning rather than capacity announcements or unconfirmed contracts alone.

Glossary

CXMT

ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s leading DRAM company.

YMTC

Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation, China’s leading NAND flash company.

DRAM

Dynamic random-access memory, fast volatile memory used in servers, computers and smartphones.

NAND

A non-volatile flash-memory technology mainly used in SSDs and mobile storage.

HBM

High-bandwidth memory, stacked memory integrated close to an accelerator.

DDR4 and DDR5

The fourth and fifth generations of the DDR SDRAM family used as system memory in servers, computers and other devices.

SSD

Solid-state drive, a storage device mainly based on NAND flash.

DUV

Deep ultraviolet, a lithography technology used to print circuits on silicon.

EUV

Extreme ultraviolet, lithography used for some very fine manufacturing steps.

Yield

The proportion of functional chips obtained from a silicon wafer after manufacturing.

FAQ

Why does AI increase demand for conventional memory?

Accelerators use HBM, but servers also require system DRAM and high-capacity SSDs. Training, inference and storage therefore increase demand across several memory categories.

Have CXMT and YMTC caught up with Korean and US leaders?

Not across the full technology range. They are gaining DRAM and NAND share rapidly but still lag in advanced HBM, lithography and some manufacturing stages.

Will their expansion reduce prices?

Effective production growth could ease the market from 2027, but might also create renewed oversupply. In the near term, constrained supply is instead increasing suppliers’ bargaining power.