US and South Korean Chip Giants Hit by China’s Breakthrough

Shares in global memory-chip producers fell in Tuesday’s trading after China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) announced significant progress in developing more efficient memory technology.

CXMT announced a new architectural breakthrough that can increase memory density by storing more data in less space. The announcement immediately weighed on shares in its competitors.

Micron fell 3.62%, while South Korea-listed SK Hynix closed down 10%. Samsung Electronics also dropped 7.4%. Other memory-related companies, including SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital, also declined, CNBC International reported on Wednesday (14 October 2026).

CXMT is a major competitor to global memory manufacturers based in the United States and South Korea. The company, headquartered in Hefei, China, began attracting global attention after listing on the stock market in July.

On its debut on the Shanghai STAR Market, CXMT shares surged nearly 466%, making it the largest publicly listed company in China by valuation at the time.

Although the shares later fell 4% from their initial public offering price of 49 yuan each, the company’s market capitalisation remained at 3.46 trillion Chinese yuan, or about US$520 billion.

CXMT is also continuing to expand its market share despite US export restrictions that have hindered China’s access to advanced chipmaking equipment. According to an HSBC note on Thursday, CXMT’s share of the global dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) market has risen to about 10%, from around 4% a year earlier.

The company is reportedly planning to launch a server-memory product using a new cell architecture by the end of 2026. The technology, known as 4F square, enables higher storage density and is also being developed by SK Hynix.

CXMT’s progress has drawn investors’ attention because the company has long been considered behind global competitors in developing the most advanced memory technologies, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component in artificial intelligence (AI) chip systems.

“Although the US government is unlikely to allow Chinese-made memory to be sold in the US, sales to data centres in other regions, such as Europe, could indirectly affect Micron,” Citi analysts said in a note in August.

Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly begun testing CXMT-made DRAM chips for devices sold in China. Citing the Financial Times in July, Apple has also lobbied the US government to allow wider use of the Chinese company’s products.