Chinese memory chip maker CXMT has taken another big step towards leading players like Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. The new generation of DRAM production has already entered mass production, and the company is also preparing to enter NAND flash - the technology that is the basis of modern SSD disks. In the long term, more Chinese production could bring more competition and lower prices, but right now the market is going in the exact opposite direction.
The memory chip industry has long been a market dominated by just a few companies. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have held leading positions in the DRAM segment for years, while the NAND flash memory market is divided between several large manufacturers.
However, Chinese ChangXin Memory Technologies – CXMT is rapidly reducing the technological gap.
On September 20, at the World Manufacturing Convention event in Hefei, the company announced the start of mass production of its own fifth generation DRAM production platform – G5.
It is no longer just an announcement of a future project. New technology has entered production.
G5 brings significantly more efficient DRAM production
The new production platform brings several important technological improvements.
CXMT states that with the G5 platform, the active part of the memory cell is reduced to 11,95 nanometers half-pitch, using an advanced quadruple-patterning process.
For the end user, the technical details may not be the most important, but the consequences of such a development are very important: multiple memory die units can be manufactured from a single silicon wafer.
According to the company, the number of manufactured memory die units per wafer may be the least 50 percent larger than the previous G4 generation, when the comparison is normalized to the same memory density.
Simply put – CXMT can get significantly more memory from the same production area.
If production is large enough and the yield of correct chips remains high, such efficiency can reduce production costs per gigabyte in the long run.
New 24 Gb LPDDR5X chips were also introduced
Along with the new G5 platform, CXMT also introduced new 24 Gb LPDDR5X memory chips.
LPDDR memory is primarily used in smartphones, tablets and other portable devices, where power consumption and physical dimensions are extremely important.
Higher density allows manufacturers to fit more memory into devices without proportionally increasing the number of chips and the space required for them.
CXMT already took another significant step during September - the company announced mass production LPDDR6 memory.
All this shows that the Chinese manufacturer is no longer a company that tries to catch up with the rest of the industry exclusively through older production processes.
CXMT is now entering increasingly serious technological competition.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron now have a fourth serious player
CXMT is no longer a brand new competitor in the market.
According to TrendForce's analysis, the mobile DRAM market has practically concentrated around four major manufacturers during 2026:
Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron and CXMT.
The fact that the largest traditional manufacturers are directing more and more production capacity towards server memory, HBM and other products related to AI infrastructure is particularly important.
This opens up additional space for CXMT in the classic and mobile DRAM market.
But China's ambitions do not end there.
CXMT now also wants NAND – the basis of modern SSD drives
Perhaps the most interesting news for PC users is the company's plan to expand its operations to NAND flash memory.
NAND is the technology on which modern SSD disks, memory cards, USB memories and a large number of other data storage devices are based.
According to Reuters information, CXMT is planning a research and development NAND production line in a new facility in Beijing.
The company has already talked with potential customers.
It is important to emphasize that this does not yet mean that CXMT has launched large-scale commercial NAND production. It is about the development of technology and the preparation of production capacities.
However, if the project succeeds, CXMT could become another significant Chinese manufacturer in the NAND market.
And China already has one very serious player.
YMTC already produces 3D NAND and SSDs
Yangtze Memory Technologies – YMTC has been developing and producing 3D NAND flash memory for years.
Their Xtacking technology is used in different generations of NAND products, and the company today offers solutions for mobile devices, computers, servers and data centers.
Photo:YMTC
YMTC offers both consumer and enterprise SSD products, including new PCIe 5.0 models.
This means that in the future China could have at least two large domestic companies active in key parts of the memory market:
CXMT – strongly positioned in DRAM and with ambitions in NAND
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YMTC – already established in 3D NAND production and SSD segment.
Larger production naturally raises the question that will be of most interest to ordinary users.
Will RAM and SSD finally become cheaper because of this?
Long term – possible.
In the short term – the situation currently looks completely different.
Photo:YMTC
More competition usually means more choice of suppliers and less room for individual companies to dictate market conditions.
If CXMT manages to significantly increase DRAM production and later become a serious supplier of NAND memory, global supply could grow.
YMTC also continues to develop and expand NAND products.
For the market of classic RAM and consumer SSD drives, this could be positive in the long run.
But there is one huge problem.
AI is currently doing the exact opposite – prices are rising
The explosion of investment in AI data centers has dramatically increased the demand for memory.
Servers need more and more DRAM, HBM memory and huge amounts of fast storage space.
Due to the higher profitability of these products, manufacturers are redirecting part of their production capacity to servers and AI infrastructure.
The result?
Less capacity remains for the classic PC and consumer market.
TrendForce estimates that conventional DRAM contract prices will grow by approximately 13 to 18 percent compared to the previous quarter.
For NAND Flash, growth is expected to be approximately 10 to 15 percent.
So, regardless of the progress of Chinese production, there are currently no strong indicators that we are immediately expecting a big drop in the prices of RAM memory or SSD disks.
On the contrary – 2026 remains a year of very strong pressure on memory prices.
Real change could come later.
The most interesting period is probably yet to come.
TrendForce expects that NAND supply growth during 2027 could begin to catch up and then outpace demand growth, which could ease the current shortage during the second half of 2027.
In that scenario, additional production from companies like CXMT and YMTC could have a much bigger impact.
If Chinese manufacturers manage to offer large quantities of competitive DDR5, LPDDR5X, LPDDR6 and NAND products, traditional manufacturers will face even more serious competition.
And competition in the memory market is exactly what customers need.
The new battle for the memory market is just beginning
CXMT's new G5 production platform shows how fast China's memory chip industry is advancing.
The company is no longer just an alternative supplier for the domestic Chinese market, but is becoming a relevant factor in the global DRAM industry.
Photo: CXMT
At the same time, the planned development of NAND memory could bring it into the field where YMTC is already located, as well as global giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.
For customers, this doesn't mean that RAM and SSDs will suddenly be cheaper next month.
Current AI demand continues to push prices up strongly.
But if Chinese companies continue at this pace to increase capacity and technologically reduce the gap compared to the leading manufacturers, the memory market could become significantly more competitive in the coming years.
And it is precisely higher production and greater competition that represent one of the most realistic paths towards more affordable RAM and SSD drives.
