China’s YMTC Moves Toward Landmark IPO Amid AI-Fueled Memory Boom

The Chinese semiconductor industry is preparing for another major stock offering. Following the successful debut of CXMT, whose market capitalization reached $524 billion after its July IPO, the parent company of China’s largest 3D NAND memory manufacturer, YMTC, is set to enter the market. The company expects to raise about $4.9 billion, with a valuation of between $41 and $49 billion, taking advantage of exceptionally favorable conditions in the global memory market and strong momentum in the IPO market, from SpaceX’s debut to the anticipated Anthropic offering and OpenAI IPO.

Formally, the offering will be carried out by CCSH Corporation, which derives more than 90% of its revenue from YMTC. The company intends to issue between 1.98 and 2.43 billion new shares and allocate approximately two‑thirds of the proceeds to modernizing its production lines. The remaining funds will be used for research and development, allowing YMTC to continue narrowing its technological gap with global leaders.

The chosen IPO structure also has political significance. YMTC itself has been under US sanctions since 2022, while similar restrictions have not yet been applied to its parent company. This gives the Chinese manufacturer additional flexibility in raising capital while also demonstrating the importance China places on developing its own semiconductor industry amid the ongoing technological confrontation with the United States.

YMTC’s financial performance makes the timing of the IPO particularly opportune. In the first quarter, the company’s revenue approached $7 billion, increasing approximately fivefold year‑on‑year. Net profit reached $5 billion, more than double the figure for all of 2025. Its profit margin increased from 15.3% to an impressive 76.8%.

The main driver of this growth was the rapid rise in NAND prices. Compared with the average level of the previous year, this type of memory became 173% more costly. Initially, the DRAM segment, and especially HBM, was considered the main beneficiary of the AI boom, but the shortage gradually spread to the flash memory market as well.

In the second quarter alone, the combined revenue of the five largest NAND manufacturers increased by 77% sequentially, reaching $68.87 billion. At the same time, the industry’s growth is being driven less by a sharp increase in shipment volumes than by rising average selling prices. Memory manufacturers continue to prioritize the more profitable DRAM and HBM segments, leaving them more cautious about expanding NAND capacity. As a result, supply is growing more slowly than demand.

The server segment remains particularly resilient. High prices are already beginning to curb NAND purchases by smartphone and personal computer manufacturers, but data center owners are much less sensitive to component costs. Against the backdrop of continued AI infrastructure expansion, this creates conditions for high prices to persist in the coming quarters.

The competitive landscape is simultaneously beginning to change. Samsung remains the largest NAND manufacturer, with a 29.3% share of industry revenue, followed by SK hynix, Solidigm, and Micron. However, statistics on shipment volumes point to a significantly stronger position for YMTC. The Chinese company has already risen to third place globally, with a market share of about 14%.

The difference is explained by the fact that YMTC sells memory at a lower price than its Western and South Korean competitors, so its market share in revenue terms is lower than its share of physical shipments. However, this very fact could become the company’s advantage in the long term. YMTC is already producing 267‑layer 3D NAND and, in terms of technological capabilities, is only a few generations behind the industry leaders.

The upcoming IPO therefore goes far beyond a typical capital raise. The proceeds will enable YMTC to simultaneously expand production and narrow the technological gap, while global memory prices remain at levels that are exceptionally favorable for manufacturers.

If the offering takes place on the stated terms, it will become the third-largest IPO in the history of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, after SMIC and CXMT. Together with the recent surge in CXMT’s market capitalization, this suggests that investors are beginning to view Chinese memory manufacturers not only as domestic alternatives to Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, but also as potentially full‑fledged competitors in the global market.