On September 30, according to an announcement on the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s website, Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (XMC) has had its IPO application for the STAR Market officially accepted, marking the official start of its listing process.

According to a report by ICsmart, both Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) and XMC are subsidiaries of the holding company Yangtze Memory Technologies Group.

ICsmart reports that XMC, founded in 2006, is a semiconductor manufacturer focused on NOR Flash memory chips and operates the first 12-inch semiconductor production line in Central China. By the end of 2017, XMC had shipped over 750,000 NOR Flash wafers, covering markets ranging from consumer electronics to industrial and automotive-grade applications, and that year achieved profitability. In 2020, XMC announced full-scale mass production of its self-developed 50nm SPI NOR Flash products.

According to information from XMC’s official website, the company currently offers 12-inch NOR Flash, CIS, and Logic wafer foundry services, with process nodes of 40nm and above.

ICsmart also notes that YMTC, the largest NAND Flash manufacturer in China, successfully developed China’s first 3D NAND flashy in October 2017 through a combination of independent R&D and international collaboration. In 2019, YMTC began mass production of 64-layer 3D NAND based on its Xtacking architecture. By April 2020, YMTC announced the successful development of 128-layer 3D NAND, with its X2-6070 model being the first third-generation QLC flash, boasting the industry’s highest I/O speed, storage density, and single-chip capacity at the time of its release.

In 2022, YMTC was reported to have entered Apple’s iPhone supply chain, providing NAND for the iPhone SE3. However, later that year, the U.S. imposed stricter export controls on Chinese semiconductors, adding YMTC to the Entity List, which has impacted the company’s development.

(Photo credit: XMC)

According to a previous report from Bloomberg, Chinese 3D NAND Flash giant YMTC recently filed a lawsuit against American memory giant Micron in California, accusing Micron of infringing on 11 of its patents related to 3D NAND Flash and DRAM products. YMTC is requesting the court to order Micron to stop selling the infringing memory products in the United States and to pay patent royalties.

Established at the end of 2016 in Wuhan, YMTC is a major Chinese manufacturer of memory (DRAM) and flash memory (NAND Flash), supported by significant investments from the “Big Fund.” It has become a representative enterprise in China’s effort to build a local chip supply chain. However, in October 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce added YMTC to the Entity List, preventing it from obtaining advanced equipment from U.S. companies to manufacture 3D NAND chips with 128 layers or more.

Before facing U.S. export controls, YMTC’s 128-layer 3D NAND chip products had already entered Apple’s supply chain and received technical and quality certification from Apple. At that time, Apple reportedly hoped to use YMTC’s chips not only for cost considerations but also to prevent flash memory from being overly concentrated in the hands of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.

The report from Tom’s hardware states that YMTC’s current allegations assert that Micron’s 96-layer (B27A), 128-layer (B37R), 176-layer (B47R), and 232-layer (B58R) 3D NAND Flash products, as well as some DDR5 SDRAM products (Y2BM series), infringe on 11 of YMTC’s patents or patent applications filed in the United States.

Notably, last November, YMTC also filed a lawsuit against Micron and its subsidiaries in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing them of infringing on eight U.S. patents related to 3D NAND Flash. Additionally, per a report from South China Morning Post on June 7th of this year, YMTC filed a lawsuit in California, accusing the Denmark-based consulting firm Strand Consult, funded by Micron, of spreading false information that damaged YMTC’s market reputation and business relationships.

Industry sources cited by the Commercial Times also note that in recent years, China’s technological capabilities have significantly improved, and companies have been actively applying for patents domestically and internationally. With the support of the Chinese government, they have also started to frequently engage in patent litigation. Last year, Chinese courts received 5,062 technical intellectual property and monopoly cases.

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(Photo credit: YMTC)

NOR Flash manufacturer Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (XMC) recently disclosed an IPO counseling filing with the Hubei Securities Regulatory Bureau, according to the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Its recently announced bidding project may indicate its ambition to become China’s first HBM foundry, according to the report by Chinese media Semi Insights.

As per information from its website, XMC provides 12-inch foundry services for NOR Flash, CIS, and Logic applications with processes of 40 nanometers and above. Originally a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), XMC announced in March its first external financing round, increasing its registered capital from approximately CNY 5.782 billion to about CNY 8.479 billion. Its IPO counseling filing also indicates that it is still majority-owned by YMTC, with a shareholding ratio of 68.1937%.

According to market sources cited in the same report, XMC’s initiation of external financing and IPO plan is primarily aimed at supporting the significant expansion during a crucial development phase for YMTC. Given the substantial scale of YMTC, completing an IPO within three years poses challenges. Therefore, XMC was chosen as the IPO entity to enhance financing channels.

It is noteworthy that XMC also announced its latest bidding project on HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) – related advanced packaging technology R&D and production line construction, according to local media.

The project indicates the company’s capability to apply three-dimensional integrated multi-wafer stacking technology to develop domestically produced HBM products with higher capacity, greater bandwidth, lower power consumption, and higher production efficiency. With plans to add 16 sets of equipment, XMC’s latest project aims to achieve a monthly output capacity of over 3000 wafers (12 inches), showing its ambition of becoming China’s first HBM foundry.

On December 3, 2018, XMC announced the successful development of its three-dimensional wafer stacking technology based on its three-dimensional integration technology platform. This marks a significant advancement for the company in the field of three-dimensional integration technology, enabling higher density and more complex chip integration.

Currently, XMC has made much progress in the research and development of three-dimensional integrated multi-wafer stacking technology, which has been evident in the successful development of three-wafer stacking technology, the application of three-dimensional integration technology in back-illuminated image sensors, advancements in HBM technology research and industrialization efforts, as well as breakthroughs in the 3D NAND project.

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(Photo credit: XMC)

US officials have announced that the Pentagon has added over a dozen Chinese companies to a list established by the US Department of Defense. This list identifies entities accused of collaborating with the Chinese military.

According to the Pentagon’s website, the Department of Defense updated the list of “Chinese military companies” operating directly or indirectly in the United States, in accordance with Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2021.

As per a report from Reuters, the newly added companies to the list include Chinese memory manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), artificial intelligence (AI) firm MEGVII, radar manufacturer Hesai Technology, and technology company NetPosa.

Reportedly, being listed on this roster doesn’t automatically impose bans, but it poses significant reputational risks for the designated companies and issues stern warnings to US entities, cautioning them about the risks associated with conducting business with these enterprises.

The list could also amplify pressure from the US Treasury Department to sanction these companies.

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(Photo credit: iStock)

In recent years, the dynamics of the memory market have undergone significant changes, with South Korean memory giants Samsung and SK Hynix facing intense competition from Chinese firms. They are experiencing heightened competitive pressures, and the technological gap is steadily narrowing.

As per reports from South Korean media outlet Business Korea, insiders in the market have disclosed that with China increasing its support for the memory industry, after several years of development, the technological gap in NAND Flash with leading global enterprises has now narrowed to approximately two years. However, in the case of DRAM, the original technological gap of about five years is still maintained.

The report indicates that the primary reason for the shortened gap is that the threshold for NAND Flash technology is relatively lower, allowing for a faster catch-up speed, and this acceleration is continuously progressing, thereby further reducing the technological disparity.

China’s largest memory semiconductor company, YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.), officially unveiled its fourth-generation 3D TLC NAND Flash memory, named X3-9070, based on the Xtacking 3.0 architecture, at the 2022 Flash Memory Summit (FMS).

YMTC has also taken the lead over Samsung and SK Hynix by achieving production of NAND Flash memory with a higher number of layers.

It is understood that in the year 2022 alone, investments from the Chinese government and state-owned investment funds amounted to approximately CNY 50 billion. The continuous and substantial funding is aimed at supporting development efforts, encompassing both technological catch-up and faster market penetration.

The report emphasizes that as semiconductor circuit miniaturization approaches its limits, China may seize another opportunity to narrow the technological gap, particularly in advanced packaging techniques.

China, being the world’s second-largest packaging technology market, boasts a more comprehensive ecosystem. Companies like JCET, Tongfu Microelectronics Co., and HT-Tech have all secured positions in the top ten semiconductor packaging enterprises globally, while no Korean companies made the list.

TrendForce pointed out that there is indeed a technological difference of about two years between South Korean memory giants and Chinese firms. YMTC has the research and development capabilities but is primarily hindered by the lack of key equipment for mass production. The subsequent developments depend on whether China can acquire crucial semiconductor equipment. If successful, YMTC may have the opportunity to transition to higher levels, such as 300 layers, and proceed to mass production.

(Photo credit: Samsung)