Innotron Memory (合肥長鑫), the parent firm of China’s top chipmaker, Changxin Xinqiao Memory Technologies Inc (CXMT, 長鑫存儲), is to invest no less than 17.1 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) in an advanced packaging plant in Shanghai that could be used to make artificial intelligence (AI) memory.
Innotron signed a contract with the local government this month via a Shanghai subsidiary to secure land, and the new site is expected to start production in mid-2026, official documents published on a Shanghai government website said.
The project would focus on a wide range of packaging technologies, including an advanced process called through-silicon via (TSV) required to make high-bandwidth memory used to power AI applications, one of the documents said. The facility is expected to provide packaging capacity for 30,000 units per month.
Photo: AFP
Innotron earlier this year secured a deal with a number of investors to raise a total of 10.8 billion yuan, according to a March exchange filing from GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc (兆易創新), one of the parties involved.
Innotron plays a critical role in China’s efforts to compete with the US in the emerging AI field, which requires cutting-edge semiconductors. However, China’s chipmaking capabilities have been hampered by a US-led multinational campaign to restrict Beijing’s access to advanced equipment, a sector that is dominated by American, Dutch and Japanese suppliers.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has also banned Nvidia Corp from selling its most cutting-edge AI semiconductors to China, which is depending more on alternative offerings from Huawei Technologies Co (華為). However, it is unclear who is making high-bandwidth memory for Huawei’s AI accelerators.
CXMT started developing chipmaking technologies eight years ago, with patents from now defunct German firm Qimonda AG. It makes chips used in a wide range of products, including computer servers and smart vehicles. It is also trying to develop AI memory, media outlets have reported.
It competes with US-based Micron Technology Inc and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc.
The Innotron subsidiary has drawn US scrutiny, with the Biden administration weighing sanctions against the Chinese chipmaker, Bloomberg News has reported.
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