China's CXMT makes its first HBM3E chips, closing the AI memory gap

China's top memory maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is producing HBM3E for the first time in small quantities, a fast memory found in many current AI processors. That's according to a report from The Information, citing two insiders. HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) consists of stacked memory chips placed right next to the processor, and it's needed to train and run large AI models.

That puts CXMT a generation behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, which are mass-producing HBM4. Alibaba's T-Head and Cambricon are testing the memory and plan to use it in products starting in 2027. That could lower one hurdle for China's own AI chips, since US export rules limit the purchase of advanced HBM chips.

According to The Information, CXMT is three to five years behind technically and struggles with low yields. SemiAnalysis estimated them at around 25 percent in June. In its Shanghai IPO, CXMT raised $8.6 billion, none of which is earmarked for HBM according to the prospectus.

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