Mainland memory giant targets aggressive local sourcing as it accelerates advanced chip production and in-house testing.
China’s leading dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), plans to invest 34.9 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) in expanding its technological capabilities, with a substantial portion allocated to domestic semiconductor equipment suppliers. According to a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing, the STAR Market-listed firm will direct 24.1 billion yuan towards a technology research and development initiative—allocating roughly 93 per cent to hardware procurement—and 10.8 billion yuan towards expanding its secondary wafer testing infrastructure.
The investment highlights CXMT’s aggressive push into advanced chip geometries alongside Beijing’s broader goal of reducing reliance on Western technology. Sources close to the supply chain indicate that the firm has set ambitious local procurement targets, though analysts note replacing foreign tools in advanced DRAM fabrication remains challenging. Furthermore, by expanding its internal testing facility, CXMT aims to decrease reliance on third-party packaging and assembly partners as output scales.
CXMT’s production capacity is projected by Morgan Stanley to reach 500,000 wafers per month by 2028, up from 180,000 at the end of 2025. Leveraging 18 billion yuan of surplus capital from its July initial public offering, the chipmaker continues to close the technical gap with global leaders Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Its expanding portfolio now includes DDR5, LPDDR5, and newly mass-produced LPDDR6 memory chips—the latter recently debuting in Xiaomi’s 18 Fold flagship smartphone— alongside its fifth-generation (G5) DRAM manufacturing architecture.
