Chinese memory chipmaker narrows gap to global top three

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) strengthened its position as the world's fourth-largest DRAM supplier in the second quarter, raising its global market share to 10 percent and narrowing the gap with the industry's top three players.

CXMT's share, measured by revenue, rose sharply from 4 percent a year earlier and 8 percent in the first quarter, according to the latest data from market research firm Counterpoint Research.

Samsung Electronics retained the top spot with a 38 percent share, followed by SK Hynix at 25 percent and Micron Technology at 24 percent. The combined share of the three established market leaders fell to 87 percent from 94 percent a year earlier as CXMT continued to gain ground in the global market.

The gains came as the global DRAM market expanded rapidly on strong demand linked to artificial intelligence and data centers. Counterpoint data showed that global DRAM market revenue surged 57 percent quarter-on-quarter and 385 percent year-on-year in the second quarter.

CXMT reported revenue of 150.31 billion yuan ($22.4 billion) in the first half of 2026, surging nearly 900 percent from a year earlier, a pace that far outstripped revenue growth at its major global memory-chip rivals, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron.

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn