Chinese chip manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technology Company (YMTC) plans to build two new factories in addition to the one that will be completed this year. When all three new factories are put into operation, its overall production capacity will be more than twice the current level, multiple people familiar with the matter disclosed the above information.
People familiar with the matter said that after the three new factories are put into full production, the monthly production capacity of each factory can reach 100,000 wafers. Yangtze Memory, which is currently unlisted, is China's largest NAND flash memory chip manufacturer. It currently has two wafer fabs with a combined monthly production capacity of 200,000 wafers. Reuters has yet to learn more information about the start-up time target and specific location of the two planned new plants. Yangtze Storage did not respond to requests for comment.
As the United States continues to tighten its technology exports to China, China is accelerating its efforts to wean itself away from dependence on foreign technology in key areas such as semiconductors. Earlier this month, cross-party U.S. lawmakers proposed further restricting the export of chip manufacturing equipment to China to hinder China's technological progress in this key industry.
According to two people familiar with the matter, Yangtze Memory's third factory in Wuhan is expected to start operation later this year, and plans to increase monthly production capacity to 50,000 wafers by 2027. The main building of the factory has been completed and is currently in the equipment installation stage. More than half of the equipment comes from local Chinese suppliers, including key process equipment for vertical stacking of chip layers.
Since being included in the "Entity List" by the U.S. Department of Commerce in December 2022, Yangtze Storage has significantly deepened its cooperation with domestic equipment manufacturers, including key local suppliers such as China Microelectronics Corporation. China Micron also did not respond to requests for comment on the above-mentioned cooperation details.
Yangtze Memory was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Wuhan. It has strong support from local government and multiple national integrated circuit industry investment funds. Analysts pointed out that the company has made rapid progress in terms of technological capabilities, and its latest generation of Xtacking 4.0 architecture products have been regarded as being on the same level as most of the products of industry leaders such as Samsung Electronics.
Although sales are mainly concentrated in the Chinese market, Yangtze Memory held an 11.8% share of the global NAND flash memory market last year, according to a UBS report. The report shows that Samsung ranks first with a share of 30.4%. Yangtze Memory’s market share is equivalent to Sandisk, and it is not far away from manufacturers such as SK Hynix, Kioxia and Micron. The latter’s market shares are 16%, 15.9% and 13.3% respectively. UBS predicts that by the beginning of 2027, Yangtze Memory's global share is expected to exceed 14%.
While consolidating its NAND flash memory business, Yangtze Memory is also accelerating its entry into the DRAM market, targeting the field of memory chips used for temporary data processing in electronic equipment. Two sources said that part of the production capacity of the three new factories will be reserved for DRAM production, and the specific proportion will depend on the company's progress in related technology research and development.
It is reported that Yangtze Memory has sent low-power DRAM (LPDDR) samples to customers and plans to receive feedback before the end of this year to adjust and determine subsequent DRAM mass production and capacity allocation plans accordingly.