Apple Tests Chinese Memory Chips, Pressures US Government for Approval
The move signals Apple's strategy to diversify its memory supply chain amid rising DRAM prices driven by AI server demand, but it carries significant political risk because CXMT is on a US blacklist identifying ties to the Chinese military.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Apple is testing DRAM chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for devices sold in China, according to the Financial Times via GIGAZINE. The company is also urging the US government to allow expanded use of CXMT's products, which are on the Pentagon's blacklist. CXMT is the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker. The testing suggests Apple may be preparing to integrate CXMT into its supply chain if political approval is obtained.
CXMT holds 11% of global DRAM wafer production capacity as of 2025, a figure SemiAnalysis expects to grow to 15% by 2028 as new Chinese lines come online. Apple has begun technical qualification testing of CXMT's DRAM for China-market devices, though it has not committed to commercial use. The company is simultaneously seeking US government assurances that CXMT will not be added to the Entity List, which would require export licenses. Politically, Apple previously shelved a similar plan with YMTC in 2022 after national security concerns were raised.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.