China's CXMT ramps up DRAM output, challenging Micron and prompting shifts in the global memory market

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is projected to produce 350,000‑375,000 DRAM wafer units per month by the end of 2026, up from about 40,000 in 2020. This rapid expansion threatens the dominance of the traditional "Big Three" memory makers – Micron (US), Samsung and SK hynix (South Korea) – and could bring Chinese DRAM production to parity with Micron’s capacity.

Facing the supply crunch, Micron, Samsung and SK hynix have all scaled back or abandoned their in‑house CXL controller projects. Micron has fully halted development and will adopt a CXL 3.0 controller from Primemas, SK hynix has redirected its team to processing‑in‑memory research, and Samsung keeps its controller effort only for internal experiments, planning to source controllers externally.

Samsung is also expanding its partnership with NVIDIA on advanced flash NAND and AI‑focused memory, while both Samsung and SK hynix are advancing new CXL‑based memory modules to address AI scaling limits. Meanwhile, DDR5 memory prices in Europe have reached a historic high – a 448 % year‑on‑year increase, making PC upgrades unaffordable for many consumers.

CXMT is further advancing toward DDR6 production through a partnership with South Korean substrate maker Haesung DS, positioning the company to compete across multiple memory generations.