The China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund — the Big Fund — has invested around ¥14.56 billion (approx. $1.99 billion) in Changxin Xinqiao, a new DRAM maker from China, reports Reuters. The company is managed by Zhao Lun, who happens to be the general manager of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), so the two companies might be affiliated.
It’s not entirely clear how the money will be spent, but Changxin Xinqiao has submitted an application to build a manufacturing facility for a 300-mm DRAM fab, according to National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS) database records. While the registry data lacks detailed specifics about the project, a statement from a project contractor released last June indicates that it aims to be China’s first facility that will both develop and mass produce dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
It is unclear whether Changxin Xinqiao is affiliated with ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), another notable DRAM maker for China. CXMT inherited its DRAM-related IP from Qimonda and operates a 300-mm DRAM fab. It looks like the two companies are managed by the same person, according to Reuters, so it’s possible that they are going to share R&D and/or production capacity.
The capital influx from the Big Fund is a part of Changxin Xinqiao’s broader fundraising that involves existing investors — including Changxin Xinan and Hefei Xinyi, which bolstered their financial contributions by ¥10.4 billion ($1.42 billion) and ¥14 billion ($1.912 billion), respectively. According to Reuters, the Big Fund now controls 33.15% of the total registered capital of Changxin Xinqiao.
The U.S. export regulations imposed last October restrict the import of American tools and technologies that can produce DRAM memory chips with 18nm half-pitch or lower. But it looks like the Chinese government and DRAM makers are not concerned about this and will continue to invest in new memory facilities.
