ChangXin Memory invests 18 billion yuan (~$2.5 billion) in DRAM research and development.
Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) announced that it will use a portion of its excess initial public offering proceeds to fund two new projects worth 18 billion yuan ($2.68 billion). The move underscores the company's push to deepen research and development efforts and strengthen its in-house testing capacity as it races to expand its product lineup and industrial chain integration.
CXMT plans to invest 13 billion yuan of surplus funds in a new technology R&D project, while another 5 billion yuan will be channeled through capital injection and shareholder loans to its wholly owned subsidiary ChangXin Storage Products (Hefei) Co. for a second-phase storage wafer backend testing base. The combined investment will not simply add wafer fabrication capacity, but instead focuses on R&D and backend testing—two areas the company sees as critical to sustaining long-term competitiveness in the fast-evolving memory market.
The technology R&D project will be primarily used for product and process development. It is intended to accelerate iteration in DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) technology and product design, helping CXMT better meet downstream application demand and adapt to shifting technological paradigms. The company said that continued investment in research is essential to drive generational advances in process technology, improve memory density, reduce power consumption and boost performance. Such efforts are necessary not only to address customer needs but also to build a stronger competitive moat and improve resilience against market volatility.
The second project, a backend testing and module assembly facility in Hefei, carries a total investment of 10.8 billion yuan and a construction period of 37 months. It will build a testing factory to provide testing services and module assembly for DRAM chips. CXMT said backend testing is a vital but specialized step in DRAM production. As its output grows and product categories expand, the company could face bottlenecks from outsourced packaging and testing providers and insufficient matching investment from external suppliers. By building its own testing capacity, CXMT aims to prevent testing from becoming a constraint on production, improve supply chain security, lower testing costs, and enhance operational efficiency and testing technology. The move would further support its integrated device manufacturer-style model.
As of June 30, CXMT held 4,484 domestic patents and 3,400 overseas patents, with 7,491 R&D employees accounting for more than 33 percent of its total workforce. The company has already achieved mass production of its fifth-generation process technology platform, with products covering DDR5, LPDDR5/5X and LPDDR6. According to a Reuters report from September 18, CXMT planned to establish an R&D production line for NAND flash memory at its new plant in Beijing, having discussed its NAND plans with customers including a newly established startup that intends to buy NAND chips for storage products used in artificial intelligence systems and supercomputers.
Veteran telecom and tech policy observer Xiang Ligang told the Global Times that CXMT's latest move reflects a more mature and strategic approach as China's memory chip industry enters a new phase of development. With the global memory market rebounding on surging demand from AI servers, CXMT's decision to direct more capital toward process research and development as well as back-end support, rather than simply rushing to expand capacity, appears increasingly "wise and prudent." By improving product performance through its existing production lines, the company is not only preparing to enter the higher-margin AI memory market but also strengthening its testing and module assembly capabilities to reduce dependence on external bottlenecks.