Samsung, SK Hynix shares drop as China’s CXMT flags progress in memory development

On Monday, shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix experienced a decline of over 3%, amid news that Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) had reported advancements in a next-generation DRAM design. The South Korean chipmakers have been actively competing with CXMT in the development of highly-dense memory technologies.

CXMT's shares fell by 3.1%, while Samsung and SK Hynix dropped by 3.6% and 3.4% respectively, reaching 252,500 won and 1,624,000 won for Samsung and SK Hynix respectively, and 49.42 yuan for CXMT.

CXMT unveiled a novel 4F² memory-cell structure, which is aimed at increasing storage capacity while improving efficiency. This technology is also under consideration by Samsung and SK Hynix. The 4F² structure, which is superior to the present 6F² cell structure, is designed to fit more memory cells onto a chip, thus boosting storage capacity.

The Vertical Surrounding Gate transistor technology employed by CXMT employs a vertical gate architecture to curtail current leakage while minimizing the space occupied by each memory cell.

CXMT's President, Cao Kanyu, disclosed at an industry event in Shanghai that the company intended to launch a new generation of DDR5 registered dual in-line memory modules (RDIMMs) based on this technology by the end of 2026. These modules are intended for enterprise servers, where memory products must fulfill rigorous requirements for dependability, endurance, and compatibility.

However, the commercial impact of this development remains uncertain, as it hinges on CXMT's capacity to proliferate the technology and satisfy the requirements of server customers.

CXMT's progress in this area further underscores its determination to bridge the technology gap with established DRAM producers. In 2025, SK Hynix revealed its own 4F² development roadmap, while Samsung reportedly aims to commence mass production of sub-10-nanometre DRAM using the same design by 2028.