China’s leading memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said net profit skyrocketed over 1,688% in the January-March period from the same quarter the year before as revenue surged more than 719%, fueled by the global artificial intelligence boom.
The results, shared in an IPO prospectus submitted to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on May 17, underscore the significant progress Beijing has made in its push to localize critical chip production.
CXMT reported a net profit of RMB 24.7 billion (USD 3.6 billion) for the quarter on revenue of RMB 50.8 billion (USD 7.5 billion). The country’s top maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips said the sharp rise in profit and revenue was driven by the global increase in DRAM prices.
The company logged its first full-year profit in 2025, reporting RMB 1.87 billion (USD 274.6 million) on revenue of RMB 61.79 billion (USD 9.1 billion), the prospectus said.
The memory chipmaker said its planned listing on Shanghai’s Star Market is intended to raise capital to support technology development and capacity expansion, as its current output still falls far short of massive domestic demand. The tech-heavy STAR Market is widely viewed as China’s version of the Nasdaq.
Nikkei first reported that CXMT is undertaking its most aggressive expansion ever in Shanghai, aiming to not only multiply its production capacity but also develop high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the critical memory component used in AI data center servers. The company is also expanding its production capacity close to its headquarters in Hefei, Anhui.
CXMT said in its prospectus that it operates three chip complexes in Hefei and Beijing.
The company was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping China reduce its reliance on foreign DRAM suppliers, a market long dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology.
CXMT’s planned listing comes as US lawmakers aim to further tighten restrictions on shipments of chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers with the proposed MATCH Act. In addition to pushing Washington’s allies to step up their controls, the act also seeks to place more Chinese chipmakers, including CXMT and Hua Hong Semiconductor, on trade blacklists to further limit their access to advanced chipmaking tools.
The record financial results by CXMT and the prospectus were filed shortly after US President Donald Trump concluded a visit to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The global memory chip crunch has created a golden opportunity for emerging players such as CXMT to rise on the international stage and benefit from a favorable pricing environment. Several leading PC makers, including HP, Dell Technologies, Asus, and Acer, are also open to qualifying CXMT’s products as memory shortages increasingly affect product rollouts and market demand.
CXMT said it is China’s top DRAM maker and the world’s number four player with a global market share of 7.67%, citing data from research company Omdia.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 22, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.