China’s CXMT and YMTC Reportedly Plan to More Than Double Capacity for AI Demand

Surging global demand for AI servers has driven shortages and steep price increases in semiconductor memory. As a core component of AI computing hardware, a stable memory supply is critical to the broader technology industry’s development. Against this backdrop, expansion plans by China’s leading memory-chip makers are intended not only to capture booming market demand but also to help Beijing achieve self-sufficiency in critical components amid U.S.-China trade and technology tensions.

ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, or YMTC, are reportedly investing a combined 63 billion yuan to expand their memory-wafer capacity to more than twice current levels around 2027. Mass production at the third phase of YMTC’s Wuhan project is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, taking monthly capacity above 170,000 wafers. CXMT is targeting the DDR5 market and aims to raise monthly capacity to 350,000 wafers by the end of 2026, using the expansion to address semiconductor shortages fueled by the AI boom.