LATEST NEWS / 2026.07.14
Chinese DRAM Maker CXMT Is Reportedly Preparing to Enter the NAND Flash Market
CXMT, China's largest DRAM maker, is reportedly getting ready to enter the NAND flash market. According to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter, the company plans to set up a NAND R&D production line…
CXMT, China's largest DRAM maker, is reportedly getting ready to enter the NAND flash market. According to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter, the company plans to set up a NAND R&D production line at its new plant in Beijing. CXMT has also set up a research institute in the capital, and NAND development is apparently among its projects there. That would put it up against Samsung and other global players, and against domestic rival YMTC, which already ranks third in NAND shipments. One of the sources says CXMT has already discussed its plans with customers, including a newly established startup that wants to buy the chips for AI and supercomputer storage products.
We also don't know when the R&D line will start running, or whether CXMT intends to go past R&D and trial production into large-scale manufacturing. CXMT and YMTC are often called the "twin stars" of China's memory industry, and they have mostly stayed in separate lanes. That seems to be changing, since Reuters reported in April that YMTC had sent low-power DRAM samples to customers. Both still trail the bigger foreign rivals, but the shortage has given them some pricing power, and CXMT was reportedly charging more than Samsung for 64 GB DDR5 server modules in July. TrendForce expects NAND supply tightness to ease only in the second half of next year, and I doubt one R&D line would change that.
We also don't know when the R&D line will start running, or whether CXMT intends to go past R&D and trial production into large-scale manufacturing. CXMT and YMTC are often called the "twin stars" of China's memory industry, and they have mostly stayed in separate lanes. That seems to be changing, since Reuters reported in April that YMTC had sent low-power DRAM samples to customers. Both still trail the bigger foreign rivals, but the shortage has given them some pricing power, and CXMT was reportedly charging more than Samsung for 64 GB DDR5 server modules in July. TrendForce expects NAND supply tightness to ease only in the second half of next year, and I doubt one R&D line would change that.