China’s CXMT Mass-Produces High-End LPDDR5X Memory

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China’s largest memory maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), said it has begun mass-production of cutting-edge LPDDR5X memory, as the country pushes for greater autonomy in technologies such as semiconductors.

LPDDR5X is the latest iteration of LPDDR, a low-power form of DDR memory designed for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and thin-and-light laptops.

The 5X iteration of LPDDR SDRAM is specifically intended for memory-intensive applications such as AI tasks.

LPDDR5X memory chips from Chinese memory manufacturer CXMT. Image credit: CXMT — Image credit: CXMT

AI applications

The Hefei-based company said it began mass-production of LPDDR5X chips with 8,533 Mbps and 9,600 Mbps speeds in May, and is currently at the customer-sampling stage with chips with 10,667 Mbps speeds.

Samsung in April of 2024 said it had achieved industry-leading 10.7 Gbps performance on its LPDDR5X chips and began mass-production of the chips with its 12-nanometre process in August of last year.

CXMT is also progressing with high-bandwidth memory (HBM), frequently used for AI data centre applications, a market currently dominated by South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix and US-based Micron.

The Chinese firm delivered 16nm HBM3 samples to Huawei and its partners ahead of mass production scheduled for next year, Taiwan’s DigiTimes reported.

CXMT’s yield rate and cost-efficiency remain behind those of leading companies, but some sources claim its yield trails Samsung by only a narrow margin, DigiTimes said.

A CXMT memory-chip fabrication plant. Image credit: CXMT — Image credit: CXMT

IPO plans

Analysts estimate that CXMT is three to four years behind the industry leaders with HBM. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are planning to mass-produce HBM4 in 2026.

Sources in China suggest CXMT’s DDR5 yields have surpassed 80 percent, approaching the levels of top memory firms, according to the report.

CXMT is preparing to become China’s first publicly listed memory chipmaker, after passing the “counselling acceptance” stage with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) earlier this month.

The IPO is expected to be heavily in demand, due to memory shortages driven by strong demand from AI infrastructure projects.

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