CXMT Touts 4F² Memory Cell; Chip Stocks Slide

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said over the weekend that it has made significant progress developing a new memory cell architecture capable of storing more data in a smaller space. The Chinese memory semiconductor company said the design is based on "4F squared (4F²)" technology, which shrinks memory cell area to raise storage density.

The disclosure weighed on memory chip shares. Micron fell 3.7% in US premarket trading, while in Korea SK hynix dropped 10% and Samsung Electronics fell 7.4%, according to digitaltoday.co.kr. SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital also weakened.

CXMT plans to launch a server memory product based on the new cell architecture by the end of 2026.

Background

SK hynix presented a development roadmap for 4F² technology in 2025. According to an HSBC report published on October 9, CXMT's global DRAM market share rose to about 10%, up from about 4% a year earlier. In August, Citi analysts assessed it was unlikely the US government would allow Chinese-made memory to be sold in the US, but said CXMT products entering data center markets in Europe and elsewhere could indirectly affect incumbents like Micron. In July, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that Apple was testing CXMT DRAM for products sold in China and had asked the US government to allow broader use of CXMT products.