Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has signed a DRAM supply contract worth 20 billion yuan (about 4.5 trillion won) with Tencent. With CXMT pursuing an initial public offering (IPO), the large-scale long-term supply deal is expected to draw even greater attention to the listing.
According to Reuters on Monday, three people familiar with the matter said CXMT had signed a contract to supply server DRAM to Tencent Holdings over several years. The contract period cited varied among the sources but is estimated at three to five years at most. Specific details, including whether CXMT's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) was part of the deal, could not be immediately confirmed. HBM is an essential component of high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
Reuters assessed that such a large commitment from Tencent, one of China's biggest internet companies, represents strong support for CXMT, which has long been considered a technological latecomer compared with global leaders Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Beyond Tencent, CXMT is reportedly in discussions over similar cooperation with major Chinese internet companies.
The contract was reached at a critical moment for CXMT. In May, CXMT received approval for an IPO targeting 29.5 billion yuan (about 6.7 trillion won) on the STAR Market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's bourse dedicated to science and technology companies.
CXMT is aggressively expanding production capacity to capitalize on this upcycle. The sources said that in addition to its existing Shanghai facility focused on HBM packaging, CXMT has begun construction of a new DRAM plant in Shanghai. CXMT currently operates two 12-inch DRAM fabrication plants (fabs) in Hefei and one in Beijing, with combined monthly capacity of about 300,000 wafers. The sources added that once the new Shanghai facility and other additional capacity come online, CXMT's DRAM wafer output will rise to about 600,000 wafers per month, double the current level.
The world's fourth-largest DRAM maker with a market share of about 7.7% as of 2025, CXMT has recently sustained explosive growth. CXMT's first-quarter revenue rose 700% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan, and the company swung to a net profit of 25 billion yuan from a 1.6 billion yuan loss the previous year. However, Reuters assessed that the production yield of CXMT's DDR5-standard DRAM remains relatively low, indicating that a technology gap with top global rivals still persists.
