China's ChangXin Memory Technologies has captured a double-digit share of the global DRAM market for the first time, intensifying the challenge it poses to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
CXMT accounted for 10% of global DRAM revenue in the second quarter, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research on the 3rd. It is the first time the Chinese chipmaker's quarterly share has reached double digits. CXMT's share, which stood below 1% in 2023, climbed quickly from 4% in the second quarter of last year to 8% in the first quarter of this year and now to 10%.
Counterpoint Research and global investment bank UBS had earlier projected that CXMT would not reach the 10% range in shipment share until 2028, meaning the company broke through the 10% barrier in quarterly revenue well ahead of expectations. With CXMT expanding production lines and stepping up sales to big tech firms, the catch-up is expected to continue for some time.
CXMT is building new production lines in Shanghai and Hefei and plans to raise capacity from about 320,000 wafers a month to 420,000 next year and double the current level by 2030. After a successful initial public offering, the company is also preparing for a full-scale investment race.
CXMT has accelerated its pursuit by concentrating on the market for legacy DRAM such as 1a-node chips, where supply has tightened as Samsung Electronics (005930) and SK hynix (000660) focus on advanced memory competition in 1c DRAM and high-bandwidth memory. It is also encroaching on the advanced memory market led by the two Korean firms, supplying its newest low-power DDR6 chips for Xiaomi's new Xiaomi Fold 18 smartphone. In HBM, it is moving to mass-produce HBM3E, an earlier generation that remains a mainstay product for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
The industry expects CXMT to move faster on supply expansion and technology development as it targets a 15% share. "Fifteen percent is a threshold CXMT must cross [to secure investment funds]," said Hwang Min-sung, a director at Counterpoint Research. "All of its current investments are a race to reach that goal first." In the NAND flash memory market, Yangtze Memory Technologies has also raised the competitive stakes, securing a 13% share in the first quarter.
Fortunes diverged for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in the second quarter. Samsung took 38%, up 5 percentage points from a year earlier, overtaking SK hynix, which held 39% a year ago, for the top spot. SK hynix slipped 14 percentage points over the same period to 25%, narrowing its lead over third-ranked Micron at 24% to just 1 percentage point. The gap is attributed to SK hynix concentrating on HBM supply in the second quarter, leaving it less exposed to the sharp rise in commodity DRAM prices. Both companies plan to counter the Chinese challenge in the second half by mass-producing HBM4 for new AI chips such as Nvidia's Vera Rubin.
