Chinese memory-chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies is preparing to move into NAND flash, expanding beyond its core DRAM business as artificial-intelligence infrastructure drives tighter supplies across the global memory market, Reuters reported.
The company plans to establish a research-and-development production line for NAND chips at a new Beijing facility and has started discussions with potential customers, including an unnamed AI-focused startup, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.
CXMT moves beyond DRAM
CXMT has built its position primarily in DRAM, the type of memory used in servers, personal computers and other computing systems. NAND flash is used for non-volatile storage in products ranging from solid-state drives and smartphones to data-center storage systems.
An entry into NAND would place CXMT in competition with global suppliers including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron, while also bringing it closer to domestic rival Yangtze Memory Technologies, which has focused on NAND.
CXMT and YMTC have often been described as two of China’s most important memory-chip companies, but their product focus has historically kept them in different segments. A NAND push by CXMT would narrow that separation as both companies expand during a period of unusually strong memory demand.
AI demand tightens memory supply
The planned expansion comes as AI servers consume larger amounts of memory and storage, contributing to supply constraints that are affecting data centers, smartphones and personal computers. Reuters separately reported this week that smaller device makers are preparing for years of memory scarcity as suppliers prioritize higher-value products and AI infrastructure.
For memory manufacturers, the shortage creates an incentive to add capacity while also making technology mix more important. AI infrastructure relies heavily on high-bandwidth memory and DRAM, but NAND demand also rises as training and inference systems generate and store larger datasets.
CXMT’s move would therefore broaden the company’s exposure to an AI-driven memory cycle while giving China another domestic supplier in a segment that remains dominated by overseas companies.
China’s memory makers raise capital for expansion
CXMT raised about $8.6 billion in a 2026 initial public offering, giving it additional capital to expand research and manufacturing. Reuters reported that the parent of YMTC is also preparing for a Shanghai listing.
Both companies are part of China’s broader effort to strengthen domestic semiconductor supply chains as US export controls restrict access to some advanced chipmaking equipment and AI processors. Memory remains strategically important because modern computing systems require both processing capacity and increasingly large pools of fast memory and storage.
The NAND plan is still under development. Reuters reported that CXMT is preparing an R&D production line rather than announcing a full commercial capacity target, and the company has not publicly detailed a production timetable or expected output.
If it progresses from research into volume production, CXMT’s expansion would add another competitive variable to a memory market already being reshaped by AI demand, capacity constraints and efforts by major economies to localize semiconductor manufacturing.
https://technode.global/2026/09/18/huawei-announces-peerium-ai-architecture-with-one-million-processor-scale-ascend-roadmap/