storage

According to Nikkei Asia, Chinese chip manufacturer Changxin Storage (CXMT) has taken the lead in profit margins over global competitors, surpassing SK Hynix and Micron. The company has leveraged the tight supply of commodity-grade DRAM to gain an advantage in the second quarter.Changxin Storage's main products include DDR5 memory, which has seen price increases in recent months. Reports indicate that this situation has emerged in the storage chip industry dominated by suppliers from South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

SK Hynix stated on the 9th that the development of the next-generation memory 3D DRAM semiconductor can utilize foundry processes. The day before, at the 2026 SK Hynix Future Forum held at the Supex Center in the Icheon campus, Vice President Kim Kyung-hoon and Son Ho-young presented the main technical directions for 3D DRAM, including the use of logic foundry processes for DRAM peripheral circuits, maximizing data bus bandwidth, and ultra-short distance transmission.3D DRAM is the next-generation DRAM that vertically stacks the originally planar storage cells to improve integration. The two stated that achieving this technology requires addressing not only design and heat dissipation issues but also challenges in fine interconnections, bonding, and process integration in the packaging field. As the boundaries between front-end and back-end packaging, foundry, and memory technology converge, collaborative optimization beyond existing fields will become more important. Son Ho-young mentioned that 3D technology is changing the technological boundaries between wafer fabs and packaging, and it is necessary to establish an optimization and new collaboration system that transcends existing fields alongside innovations in advanced packaging technology.In a related presentation, Professor Shin Chang-hwan from Korea University stated that 3D DRAM is not only about the vertical stacking of chips but also a technology that breaks the boundaries between memory and logic. As device miniaturization approaches its limits and the time and power consumption associated with data movement between systems and memory increases, the shift to 3D technology is inevitable. He proposed a 3D integrated design framework that links materials, devices, packaging, and architecture through artificial intelligence. SK Hynix President Kwon Oh-joon, in his speech, remarked that the past memory market resembled a straight road where the competition was about who could run faster, but now it resembles a constantly changing curve, making it important to grasp the speed and direction of external environmental changes and adapt flexibly in addition to internal capabilities.

According to Bloomberg, the top executive of Kioxia Holdings denied the possibility of establishing closer cooperation with competitors and shareholder SK Hynix, stating that they will control the rapid rise in storage chip prices to avoid impacting long-term demand in the artificial intelligence sector.Currently, storage chip manufacturers are expanding production capacity to meet the surge in orders from artificial intelligence service providers, leading to a significant increase in related chip prices. Some investors believe that forming manufacturing partnerships may help reduce the risk of large-scale capital expenditures.

According to the Chosun Ilbo, China's largest DRAM manufacturer Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has launched trial production of the fourth-generation high bandwidth memory HBM3, with initial yield stagnating at 25%, about one-third of the golden mass production yield of 80%. SK Hynix has been mass producing similar products since 2022, with a yield exceeding 90%.The front-end yield of Changxin Memory's HBM3 8-layer stacked products is about 30%, while the back-end yield is approximately 70%, resulting in final good products. The company supplies a small number of samples to Chinese companies such as Alibaba's Pingtouge and Cambricon, and continues to improve yields. Its G4 (17-nanometer) process ordinary DRAM has no major issues, but the DRAM chips used for HBM have larger areas and stricter electrical specifications.The industry attributes the reasons to the insufficient maturity of Through-Silicon Via (TSV) technology. Nomad Semi's analysis shows that Samsung's HBM2 has over 5,000 TSVs per chip, SK Hynix's HBM3 has over 8,000, while Changxin Memory has about 3,000. There is a gap of 4 to 5 years compared to Samsung and SK Hynix.

Future Asset Securities analyst Kim Young-gun stated that the expansion of Samsung Electronics' HBM shipments for AI applications is expected to offset the impact of the slowdown in growth of general-purpose memory chips next year. It is anticipated that Samsung Electronics' HBM shipment capacity and average selling price will soar by 57% and 49% respectively by 2027, expected to surpass the projected growth rates of 16% and 20% for general-purpose memory chips.Future Asset expects Samsung's earnings to be weighed down by the strengthening of the Korean won against the US dollar, but overall, it will remain robust. The agency has lowered its operating profit forecast for Samsung in 2026 by 5.7% to 370.057 trillion won and reduced it by 4.2% to 535.682 trillion won for 2027.

Researcher Schulz_Research stated that China's storage advancement is no longer a story of a single company, but rather a division of labor among three companies: CXMT is responsible for DRAM wafers, YMTC is responsible for NAND and has added DRAM in its latest factory, and the foundry controlled by YMTC, XMC, is responsible for stacking products from both. This division corresponds to the rules set by Beijing since late December last year, which state that new factory approvals must show that at least half of the equipment is domestically sourced, with exemptions only granted when there are no domestic options available. YMTC's Wuhan Phase III is the first advanced storage project to pass this rule and is set to begin production later this year.CXMT operates three 300mm DRAM factories, each producing about 100,000 wafers per month; models indicate it will reach 350,000 wafers by the end of 2026, and if all announced projects are completed, the total will exceed 600,000 wafers. YMTC's first two factories in Wuhan have a combined capacity of 200,000 wafers, with Phase III expected to reach 50,000 wafers by 2027 and full production of 100,000 wafers, along with plans to build two more factories of similar scale. XMC has two 12-inch factories, each with about 30,000 wafers, and an HBM packaging line producing about 3,000 wafers per month. China supplies about 10% of the global DRAM bits, with YMTC accounting for 14% of NAND bit shipments in the second quarter, and China consumes about 30% of global storage.CXMT has begun mass production of DDR5 and LPDDR5 and plans to start mass production of HBM3 this year, having already sent samples to domestic AI hardware developers. XMC has spent two years building HBM packaging based on hybrid bonding and YMTC's stacking IP, and is still advancing TSV technology.

Serenity posted a reminder that the fundamentals of storage shortages have not changed and may even become more acute. The market will shift from one bottleneck sector to another, but the companies themselves remain unchanged; what changes are the valuations and narratives. Serenity added several pieces of evidence suggesting that the storage supply-demand gap may be worse than the market expects: Nikkei reported that Japanese distributors claim the storage demand gap has reached 40% to 60%, and prices may rise by about 50% by the end of the year; SpaceX has not accounted for the approximately $1.3 trillion capital expenditure from ultra-large cloud providers, and total spending may exceed expectations; SanDisk's expected gross margin of 80% is expected to be maintained until 2030; and order visibility for companies like Samsung has extended to 2031.Serenity emphasized that storage stocks are highly volatile, with some of its positions showing unrealized gains of over 270%, making them easier to hold. However, the company's operational fundamentals and short-term stock prices often do not align. The same logic applies to other bottleneck areas such as optical modules, CW lasers, and substrates; after a rebound in stock prices, there is no need to assume that shortages have ended. Storage prices and supply-demand structures remain tight, and market sentiment and valuation narratives are rapidly rotating.

The Bank of Korea stated that thanks to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix actively expanding domestic production facilities, South Korea's leading advantage in memory chip capacity is expected to further expand.The Bank of Korea expects that new chip factories to be put into production by 2028 will increase South Korea's monthly wafer capacity by approximately 600,000 wafers.

Nikkei Chinese reported on September 3 that demand for AI servers from Nvidia is driving the semiconductor memory DRAM market to accelerate upward. The price of general DRAM products used in personal computers and other devices increased by 5% month-on-month, while products for industrial equipment saw double-digit increases. Memory manufacturers are prioritizing the supply of AI server-specific memory, and its ripple effect is further spreading.In addition to being used in personal computers, cameras, and smartphones, DRAM is also installed in AI servers and other devices in data centers, serving as temporary data storage. As sellers, memory manufacturers negotiate monthly or quarterly with equipment manufacturers and module manufacturers, who act as buyers, to determine bulk transaction prices. The bulk transaction price for the 16Gb specification of the general model DDR5 used in PCs, game consoles, and servers was set at approximately $40.2 in July, an increase of 5% month-on-month. Prices have risen for seven consecutive months, and executives from electronics trading companies stated that they have reached a historic high.

The research institution Sigmaintell has released a storage price indicator showing that in the third quarter of 2026, the overall supply and demand in the global storage market remains tight. Prices for all categories of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and NAND Flash (flash memory) continue to rise month-on-month, but the rate of increase has significantly slowed compared to the second quarter, with the month-on-month increase for some storage chips narrowing to within 10%.

Changxin Storage filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense on August 28, Eastern Time. Changxin Storage stated that the company filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accusing the U.S. Department of Defense of mistakenly listing it as a "Chinese military enterprise," with the company first being named in January 2025. Changxin Storage is not a military enterprise; it only researches and produces DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) products for commercial and civilian use, and they are not used for military purposes.

The core development team of Solana, Anza, announced that the Solana testnet has enabled the first phase of the SIMD-0437 proposal, and the account rent reduction mechanism has begun testing. This proposal includes a total of 5 functional gates, with only the first functional gate currently activated, and all adjustments have not yet been completed and deployed to the mainnet.Once all 5 phases are completed, the storage cost parameter lamports_per_byte for Solana will be reduced from 6960 to 696, resulting in an overall reduction of 90%. For example, in the case of token accounts, the deposit required to maintain an account in a rent-exempt state is expected to decrease from approximately $0.16 to $0.016, thereby lowering the costs of account creation and application deployment.

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung stated that the company is exploring ways to deepen cooperation with Japanese memory chip customers and suppliers, and is cautiously assessing how to jointly develop the NAND flash memory market. Regarding the company's significant indirect stake in Kioxia, he mentioned that there are currently "no definite plans."After Toshiba's recent divestment, SK Hynix's investment vehicle BCPE Pangea Cayman2 has become Kioxia's largest shareholder, holding a 14.19% stake. SK Hynix holds bonds that can be converted into nearly all voting rights of this investment vehicle; according to a previous agreement, its voting rights cannot exceed 15% before 2028 without Kioxia's consent.In addition, SK Hynix is investing over $4 billion to build its first U.S. HBM packaging facility in Indiana. The cleanroom of the factory is expected to be operational by October 2028, with mass production of the next generation HBM planned for the second half of 2029, and it is expected to employ about 1,000 people once fully operational. The company is also still evaluating the possibility of listing its U.S. NAND subsidiary Solidigm, but no decision has been made yet.

Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo Markets, stated that Nvidia's performance strongly validates the investment logic in artificial intelligence infrastructure. She pointed out that as capacity continues to expand, storage, networking, optical communication, power infrastructure, and some cloud service providers will benefit, but the market increasingly needs to see that AI investments can yield returns.Storage remains one of the clearest beneficiary areas, and Nvidia's profit margin guidance confirms that supply remains tight. After Nvidia's earnings announcement, Asian storage chip stocks generally rose. However, Chanana added that the next phase of the storage chip market will increasingly depend on AI demand and whether the storage capacity of each accelerator can absorb the continuously increasing supply capacity, rather than solely relying on supply shortages to drive price increases.

According to SemiWiki, WSTS data shows that the global semiconductor market sales reached $368 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 35% and a year-on-year increase of 104%, setting a new historical high. The growth is mainly driven by AI demand, with significant quarter-on-quarter increases from memory manufacturers, SK Hynix and Sandisk at 51%, Kioxia at 76%; Nvidia's AI processor business grew 18% quarter-on-quarter, and Broadcom is expected to grow 33% quarter-on-quarter.Kioxia and Sandisk rose to eighth and ninth place globally, respectively, with both companies' revenues growing more than four times year-on-year. Excluding major AI suppliers, the other top 20 semiconductor manufacturers only saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of 9%, with guidance indicating a total quarter-on-quarter growth of about 6% for the third quarter of 2026. The growth expectations for memory manufacturers in the third quarter have clearly slowed down.Based on the latest forecasts, the semiconductor market growth rate for the entire year of 2026 is expected to reach or exceed 90%, with Semiconductor Intelligence predicting a growth of 101% and RCD Advisors predicting 112%; in the storage sector, WSTS expects a growth of 249%, while Gartner predicts 280%. Most institutions expect the growth rate to fall back to the mid-20% range in 2027.

According to Nikkei Asia, storage chip manufacturer Kioxia Holdings plans to build new production facilities at its factory in northern Japan, with project investments expected to exceed 1 trillion yen (approximately 6.27 billion USD).Kioxia currently ranks third in the global NAND flash memory market, behind Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The company's move aims to follow its South Korean competitors in increasing production capacity to meet market demand.

According to Gate market data, after-hours trading on Wednesday for U.S. stocks saw Nvidia's new quarterly results continue to exceed market expectations, with a forecast of approximately 70% sales growth for the next fiscal year, driving AI concept stocks higher in after-hours trading.The storage sector collectively strengthened, with SK Hynix rising 4.48%, SanDisk up 3.71%, Micron Technology up 3.67%, Seagate Technology up 3.15%, and Western Digital up 3.11%. The Neocloud sector saw widespread gains, with Nebius up 6.27%, CoreWeave up 4.76%, Applied Digital up 3.26%, and both IREN and Core Scientific up 3.16%.Optical communication stocks rose across the board, with Applied Optoelectronics up 4.25%, Marvell Technology up 4.08%, Credo up 3.78%, Coherent up 3.35%, and Astera Labs up 3.34%. Semiconductor stocks also strengthened, with Arm up 4.18%, Marvell Technology and Nvidia both up 4.08%, Lam Research up 2.65%, and KLA up 2.42%.

According to Gate market data, U.S. stocks opened higher, with the three major indices rising: the Dow Jones up 0.36%, the S&P 500 up 0.35%, and the Nasdaq up 0.65%.The storage concept rebounded, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) rising about 3% and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) also rising about 3%. Alibaba (BABA.N) fell 0.6%, while Jack Ma and Joe Tsai continuously increased their holdings.

According to Gate market data, the Nasdaq 100 index futures continue to rise, currently up about 1%, while the S&P 500 index futures and Dow futures are up about 0.5%. The storage concept rebounded before the market, with SK Hynix, Western Digital, and Micron Technology all rising over 3%, and SanDisk rising over 4%.

Xiaomi officially released the Xuanjie O3 chip. The new generation Xuanjie O3 is the world's first flagship mobile processor (SoC) that supports LPDDR6 memory chips. According to reporters from the Financial Associated Press, domestic storage leader Changxin Storage (CXMT) is a core partner for Xiaomi's Xuanjie O3 LPDDR6 memory.In March this year, there were reports that Changxin LPDDR6 had sent samples to key customers, and in early August, multiple media outlets reported that it was nearing the end of verification. With the launch of the Xuanjie O3, this marks the first application of domestic LPDDR6 chip products in flagship processors, which also means that domestic low-power memory has officially entered the global top tier.