China's famous NAND producer YMTC is now planning to tap into the DRAM business, likely to focus on development of 'in-house' HBM, and sort out the domestic shortage.
YTMC Is Currently Setting Up DRAM Production Lines & Developing Stacking Technologies For HBM
For those unaware, China is facing a massive HBM shortage, which comes from the nation's huge demand for AI chips. In a previous report, we explored how Beijing has been relying on HBM stockpiles, which are now almost depleted. The lack of domestic HBM options is a far more greater concern for the domestic industry compared to the lack of chip production, and it seems like firms are stepping up to cater to the situation. Reuters reports that YMTC is tapping into the DRAM business, in a bid to produce HBM solutions.
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.
- Reuters
The report claims that YMTC is also focusing on chip packaging technology, called TSV, which is one of the essentials for HBM to create connections between stacked VRAM dies. So, after the NAND venture, YMTC is hoping to establish dedicated DRAM production lines in an effort to cater to the HBM production, and trying to cater to the supply-demand bottleneck, which is one of the biggest barriers that currently curtail China's AI chip adoption amongst domestic tech giants.
Based on a previous coverage, we discussed how YMTC plans to collaborate with CXMT, a Chinese DRAM manufacturer, to focus on joint HBM production, where the latter will provide expertise around 3D stacking technology. It is claimed that YMTC is planning to dedicate a facility in Wuhan for its DRAM production, but production figures are currently uncertain. The transition to DRAM business is likely a newer venture, which will take time before the end-solution pans out.
The HBM bottleneck is undoubtedly a key barrier that Chinese firms hope to address, especially since Huawei recently announced its in-house HBM process integration in its next-gen AI chips.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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