China’s CXMT challenges Samsung and SK Hynix with cutting-edge DDR5 AI memory chips
CXMT’s new DDR5 chips reached speeds of up to 8,000 megabits per second and had a maximum die capacity of 24 gigabits
China has made significant progress in artificial intelligence hardware as the country’s top memory chipmaker has joined Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to supply some of the world’s most advanced products.
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) on Sunday unveiled its new Double Data Rate 5 (DDR5) Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) products with high frequency and expanded memory, which are vital for state-of-the-art AI computing servers and stacks.
The DRAM chips were released at the China International Semiconductor Expo in Beijing. The products – targeted at high-end markets – reflect the company’s efforts to challenge the dominance of South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, and Micron Technology of the US.
Global demand for DDR5 DRAM memory products is surging thanks to an AI investment frenzy, pushing prices higher amid tight supply. The chips function as high-speed memory systems, allowing rapid storage and access to vast amounts of data required for AI model training and inference.
CXMT’s new DDR5 products reached speeds of up to 8,000 megabits per second (Mbps) and had a maximum die capacity of 24 gigabits, according to a statement from the company.
The products are divided into seven major memory modules, including UDIMM, the standard type for desktops, as well as SODIMM for laptops and MRDIMM for data centres.
At the event, the company also displayed the LPDDR5X series for the first time, an advanced DRAM product line targeted at mobile devices, which entered mass production earlier this year.
The LPDDR5X series included chips with speeds of 8,533 Mbps, 9,600 Mbps and 10,667 Mbps, with mass production of the first two models starting in May, while the fastest version was in the “customer sampling” stage, the company said in October.
The progress of the two product lines reflects the company’s intensified efforts to catch up with global makers of advanced memory chips.
This push is part of China’s broader ambition to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency and comes as the company moves towards a long-anticipated initial public offering on the mainland amid a protracted US-China tech war.
Prices of certain DDR5 chips had surged 307 per cent since the start of September, according to data released last week by TrendForce, a market research firm.
SK Hynix was planning an eightfold increase in the output of its sixth-generation 10-nanometre DRAM, also known as 1c DRAM, next year to meet the surging demand for AI inferencing, The Korea Economic Daily reported last week.
The growth in global DRAM production was expected to exceed 20 per cent in 2026 across all key chipmakers, while CXMT could “surprise on the upside”, according to a report last week from Counterpoint, a market research firm.