Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) has broken into the world’s top three NAND flash memory suppliers by volume for the first time, reports the South China Morning Post. The move marks a milestone for China’s semiconductor ambitions as it strives to narrow the revenue gap with global rivals in high-value data-centre storage.
The Wuhan-based chipmaker captured 14% of global NAND bit shipments–a measure of total storage capacity shipped rather than total chip units–in the second quarter, narrowly overtaking Japan’s Kioxia, according to data from Counterpoint Research published on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics retained the global lead with a 25% market share, while SK Hynix–including its Solidigm subsidiary–was second at 22%.
YMTC’s shipments climbed 22% year on year and 5% quarter on quarter, driven by expanding supplies to domestic electronics manufacturers and the increased production of its latest-generation 3D NAND architecture, Counterpoint said.