China’s CXMT just set a new record with an $8.5 billion IPO on Shanghai’s Star Market. The memory chipmaker’s valuation hit a staggering $85 billion, making it the largest Chinese chip company IPO ever.
Founded in 2016 with government backing, CXMT makes DRAM chips—the working memory inside phones, PCs, and servers. It claims a 7.7% slice of the global DRAM market, a notable feat against entrenched giants Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
The company sold nearly 6.7 billion shares, about 10% of its total equity, at 8.66 yuan ($1.28) per share. That raised 57.9 billion yuan ($8.5 billion). If the 15% overallotment kicks in, the haul could reach 66.6 billion yuan ($9.83 billion). Subscriptions open July 16, but the trading date remains under wraps.
Revenue jumped over 700% year-on-year in Q1 to 50.8 billion yuan ($7.4 billion). CXMT also swung to a large profit, fulfilling founder Zhu Yiming’s 2018 pledge to forgo salary until profitability—achieved last year. Zhu, who foresaw China’s rise in memory chips more than two decades ago, said, “It is time for China to play [a] role in this industry.”
This IPO is a milestone in China’s chip self-reliance push. CXMT plans to invest 29.5 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) from the proceeds in new projects—nearly double the IPO raise target. It aims to build a war chest ahead of potential U.S. export restrictions that still limit its access to advanced manufacturing tools.
Last month, the U.S. Pentagon added CXMT to its list of “Chinese military companies.” An interagency committee cleared CXMT for the Commerce Department’s Entity List, but the ban’s enforcement is pending. Despite this, CXMT continues to rely on foreign equipment, highlighting the tension between ambition and reality.
Market watchers expect CXMT to challenge global leaders Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Some analysts predict a future market cap of 3 trillion yuan. With China’s semiconductor market forecast to hit $812.1 billion by 2026 and the memory-chip segment alone expected to grow 263% to $449.6 billion, CXMT’s IPO signals a serious contender has arrived.
Based in Hefei, Anhui province, CXMT counts Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance among its customers. The IPO will be one of China’s most closely watched this year. For a company that started less than a decade ago, CXMT’s leap to an $85 billion valuation is nothing short of audacious.
Based on
- CXMT prices a record $8.5bn Shanghai IPO, valuing China’s memory champion at $85bn — thenextweb.com
- China memory giant CXMT valued at US$85 billion in record Shanghai IPO | South China Morning Post — scmp.com
- China’s top DRAM maker sets date for US$4.3b Shanghai IPO amid memory boom | South China Morning Post — scmp.com
- Meet CXMT’s Zhu Yiming: the engineer building China’s answer to global memory-chip giants | South China Morning Post — scmp.com
- CXMT poised to gain market share for mobile phone memory chips — cnbc.com
