Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) has told investors and stakeholders that it aims to become the world's largest NAND flash producer by the end of 2027, overtaking Samsung and SK hynix, according to a Financial Times report cited by Tom's Hardware. The goal was announced during meetings held ahead of the Wuhan-based company's planned initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, according to TechPowerUp.
YMTC filed to raise about 33 billion yuan (roughly $4.9 billion to $5 billion, depending on the source) through the IPO, with most proceeds earmarked for production line upgrades and research and development. Tom's Hardware reported that 20.8 billion yuan is allocated to mass production line upgrades and 12.2 billion yuan to advanced R&D, implying a post-listing valuation of 275 to 330 billion yuan, though the company is expected to trade above that once shares debut. The offering, sponsored by CITIC Securities and CSC Financial, would issue between 1.98 billion and 2.43 billion A-shares, representing 10% to 12% of post-offering capital.
Sources differ somewhat on YMTC's current market position. Tom's Hardware cited Counterpoint Research data putting YMTC at around 14% of global NAND shipments in the second quarter, level with Kioxia, compared with roughly 25% for Samsung and a combined 22% for SK hynix and its Solidigm subsidiary. TechPowerUp instead described YMTC as having claimed the third-largest spot in Q2 by surpassing Micron, Kioxia, and Sandisk, with bit shipments growing 22% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter. Both sources agree YMTC ranks third globally and first in China by NAND revenue and shipment volume as of the first quarter.
YMTC's finances have improved sharply. The company, profitable only since 2024, reported first-quarter revenue of 47.04 billion yuan ($7 billion) and net profit of 33.38 billion yuan — more than double its net profit for all of 2025. Gross margin rose from 5.45% in 2023 to 35.3% in 2025 and 76.77% in the first quarter of 2026, with fabs running at 98.02% capacity utilization. This growth came at a cost: YMTC has spent 96.39 billion yuan in capital outlays on long-term assets and 15.95 billion yuan in cumulative R&D, generating 50.95 billion yuan in depreciation and amortization charges that could pressure margins if memory prices decline.
The listing follows a template set by ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's leading DRAM maker, which raised $8.6 billion in July in Asia's largest IPO this year and surged 466% on its first trading day, later overtaking Tencent as China's most valuable listed company by mid-August. Both CXMT and YMTC are expanding output with new fabs in Shanghai and Wuhan, a trend that has drawn concern from some investors. Joanna Yang of Ninety One told the Financial Times that global investors are watching how Chinese capacity expansion could affect supply-demand dynamics for memory, noting it is a globally priced product.
YMTC has been on the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List since December 2022, restricting its access to advanced American fabrication tools. According to Tom's Hardware, NAND competitiveness depends less on the lithography tools targeted by U.S. sanctions and more on layer counts, stacking architecture, and hybrid bonding, allowing YMTC to advance using its Xtacking architecture — reported as a 294-layer device combining decks of 150 and 144 layers — while building out domestic Chinese toolmaking. TechPowerUp described YMTC's current Xtacking 4.0 architecture as using 267-layer 3D NAND in mass production, with 300-plus-layer technology expected next year, and cautioned that reaching the number-one spot by 2027 could be difficult if the U.S. pressures the Dutch government to have ASML halt exports of older DUV equipment still used in NAND manufacturing.