China flash memory maker YMTC plans to enter the DRAM market, sources say

By Che Pan and Fanny Potkin

BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China’s top flash memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) is planning to expand into manufacturing DRAM chips including advanced versions that are used to make artificial intelligence chipsets, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

The move by the state-backed chipmaker underscores China’s growing urgency to boost its capability to manufacture advanced chips after the U.S. expanded export controls in December to restrict Beijing’s access to high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a specialised form of DRAM used to make AI chipsets.

The restriction has since made the availability of HBM chips more pressing matter for China’s vast AI chip industry where tech giants such as Huawei and ByteDance are developing their own