China’s memory push could eventually alter the global DRAM market, where Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology dominate.
- CXMT’s new G5 platform is designed to boost chip density while lowering production costs and power consumption.
- The Chinese memory maker’s global DRAM revenue share climbed to 9.5% in the second quarter.
- AI infrastructure demand continues to support memory prices despite rising competitive risks from Chinese suppliers.
China’s leading memory maker, Changxin Memory Technologies CXMT is taking another step toward narrowing the gap with global memory leaders after announcing that its fifth-generation technology platform has entered mass production.
The development could strengthen China’s position in the global memory-chip market, where Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology have long dominated. CXMT said its new platform can produce more advanced memory chips at lower cost and with lower power consumption.
Shares of Micron were up 1%, and those of SK Hynix were flat in the overnight session late Sunday.
CXMT Targets Higher Density, Lower Costs
The Hefei-based company said its new platform, known as G5, reduces the spacing of key features in the memory-cell area to 11.95 nanometres using a manufacturing technique called quadruple patterning, according to a report in South China Morning Post.
CXMT said the technology enables at least 50% more chip dies per wafer than the previous-generation platform, using an 8-gigabit chip as the baseline.
The company also unveiled two 24-gigabit LPDDR5X products based on the new platform. The low-power DRAM chips target smartphones and portable electronics and offer 50% more capacity than CXMT’s previous equivalent products. The company said both products are already in mass production.
CXMT’s Growing Memory Footprint
The announcement comes as CXMT has been rapidly increasing its presence in the global DRAM market.
According to TrendForce, CXMT’s share of global DRAM revenue rose to 9.5% in the second quarter from 7.6% in the first quarter, putting it in fourth place behind Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. Its second-quarter DRAM revenue jumped 99.3% sequentially.
“Server DRAM demand is expected to grow nearly 6x by 2030 and account for ~60% of the entire market,” Futurum Equities’ Shay Boloor said in an X post, citing new research.
“That matters most for $MU and $SKHY since servers are expected to drive ~80% of all incremental DRAM demand as AI infrastructure becomes biggest source of growth.”
Memory Stocks Could Face A New Competitive Threat
CXMT’s expansion could eventually create additional competitive pressure for global memory makers including Micron, SanDisk and SK Hynix, particularly if Chinese suppliers use higher production capacity and lower costs to compete more aggressively on price.
That said, the threat is unlikely to alter the current supply-demand picture immediately. AI infrastructure spending has driven strong demand for DRAM, HBM and high-capacity server memory, while industry inventories remain low. TrendForce.
Memory stocks have nevertheless rallied sharply lately. Micron closed up 3.9% on Friday, while SanDisk jumped 11% and SK Hynix’s U.S.-traded shares rose 2.5% to $187.50.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for MU, and ‘bearish’ for SNDK and SKHY.
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