Key facts
- ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has secured a supply deal with Tencent Holdings valued at over $2.94 billion.
- The agreement covers DRAM chip supply for servers over several years.
- CXMT is preparing for a significant IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market, aiming to raise 29.5 billion yuan ($4.34 billion).
- The deal underscores a broader trend of Chinese internet giants seeking domestic memory chip supply amid global shortages.
- CXMT plans to double its DRAM wafer production capacity to approximately 600,000 wafers per month.
Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has secured a significant long-term supply agreement with Tencent Holdings, valued at over 20 billion yuan ($2.94 billion), for DRAM chips essential for servers powering cloud computing, databases, and AI workloads. This deal comes as CXMT prepares for a substantial initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market, aiming to raise 29.5 billion yuan ($4.34 billion), which would be one of mainland China's largest listings in years.
The agreement, which sources indicate could span up to five years, represents a major endorsement for CXMT, a company founded in 2016 with government backing and aiming to establish a foothold in a market dominated by South Korean and U.S. firms. It also reflects a broader trend of Chinese internet giants scrambling for memory chip supply amid a prolonged global shortage that has driven up costs.
CXMT, currently the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker with approximately 7.7% market share in 2025, has experienced explosive growth, with first-quarter revenue surging 700% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan and a net profit of 25 billion yuan, compared to a loss a year prior. The company is aggressively expanding its production capacity, planning to double its DRAM wafer output to around 600,000 wafers per month through new facilities, including one in Shanghai focused on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging. However, CXMT faces challenges, including low production yields on its next-generation DDR5 memory products.