The chipmaker is threatening the US and South Korea.

Amidst a shortage of memory chips, China's CXMT is overcoming restrictions from the US to compete with Micron and leading South Korean companies.

CXMT's semiconductor wafer is on display at a conference in Hefei, China. Photo: Zuma Press .

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's leading memory chip manufacturer, is about to issue shares worth $4 billion . This move comes thanks to advancements in CXMT's technology, which are disrupting the memory chip industry, previously dominated by South Korea and the United States.

According to the WSJ , this is one of the largest initial public offerings from a memory chip manufacturer, and a positive sign in the context of AI causing chip supply shortages. Of course, CXMT faces numerous challenges.

The geopolitical hurdles for CXMT are significant, even though the company wants to increase production and expand its international business. In the US, the operations of Chinese chip manufacturers have been restricted for many years. Meanwhile, South Korean prosecutors accuse CXMT of stealing trade secrets from former Samsung employees, one of the leading memory chip companies.

Rapid development

Memory chips are a critical component in computers. AI processors from Nvidia and other manufacturers increasingly demand more memory, both traditional and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Even with traditional memory like DRAM, AI servers still require more capacity than regular laptops. According to market research firm TrendForce , DRAM prices are expected to increase by more than 50% in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Until recently, the majority of the global DRAM market belonged to three companies: Samsung, SK Hynix (South Korea), and Micron (USA). These manufacturers have shifted their resources to higher-margin AI memory chips, with Micron withdrawing from some consumer memory segments.

This opened up an opportunity for CXMT, a company founded 10 years ago after a Chinese firm failed in its attempt to acquire Micron. The Hefei city government decided to establish its own DRAM manufacturing company.

Currently, CXMT receives support from the national technology fund, as well as leading Chinese corporations such as Alibaba and Xiaomi.

Market share of DRAM manufacturers by revenue in Q3 2025. Photo: WSJ .

In late December 2025, CXMT announced it had filed a plan to list on the Shanghai Tech Stock Exchange, aiming to raise approximately $4 billion . Analysts say recent investments have valued the company at over $20 billion .

CXMT is among the list of emerging semiconductor companies that the Chinese government hopes will help enhance the country's self-reliance amid the trade war with the US. Other prominent names include chipmaker SMIC and equipment company AMEC.

CXMT's prospectus shows that it only took the company a few years to take a prototype to mass-produced finished product. By 2024, the company's revenue reached over $3 billion , nearly tripling in just two years.

US and South Korea express concerns.

Analysts say CXMT's technology is only one or two generations behind industry leaders. CXMT's global DRAM market share has increased to around 5% of revenue. This is happening despite US restrictions on China's access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment.

"CXMT's advancements have surprised the industry amidst the US's restrictive grip on the memory market," said Paul Triolo, head of technology policy at the consulting firm DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group.

Triolo suggests that US concerns would increase if CXMT were able to supply HBM chips to Huawei, the Chinese company that possesses AI processors closest to Nvidia's.

In December 2025, South Korean prosecutors announced they had indicted 10 people, including former Samsung executives, on charges of transferring secrets to CXMT, including technology that helped CXMT mass-produce advanced DRAM chips.

A booth of CXMT. Photo: ICViews .

The suspects are believed to have operated in a network to avoid detection. They joined CXMT through shell companies, moved offices, and went to intermediary locations to conceal their work in China.

The suspects used "four hearts" messages to warn each other in case South Korea intercepted or attempted to arrest them. Prosecutors said the leak of trade secrets caused billions of dollars in damage to Samsung and the semiconductor-dependent economy .

Current US regulations do not prohibit doing business with CXMT, but lawmakers have expressed less than positive views. In 2022, Apple abandoned plans to use NAND memory chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (China) after facing opposition from the US Congress.

A year later, some members of Congress suggested that the U.S. Department of Commerce consider adding CXMT to its internal export control list, fearing potential intellectual property theft and the company's role in China's industrial strategy.

Gregory Allen, an advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said CXMT's pursuit of HBM memory is causing considerable concern. With the U.S. having blocked Huawei's access to HBM chips, the emergence of a company like CXMT is very valuable to China.

"The rise of CXMT means that China's domestic AI chip manufacturing industry is on the rise," Allen said.

Source: https://znews.vn/hang-chip-dang-de-doa-my-han-quoc-post1619767.html