Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) secured the position of China’s largest NAND flash chip producer in 2026. The company captured 38.5% of the Chinese NAND market during the second quarter of 2026, a significant rise from its 28% share throughout 2025.
Market share for competitors declined as Samsung's portion in China fell from 36% to 33.5%, while SK Hynix dropped from 20% to 17%. Samsung is currently upgrading its manufacturing facility in Xian, China, which accounts for roughly 40% of its global NAND production capacity.
The South Korean firm plans to start production with 5,000 wafers by the end of 2026 and intends to increase that output to 40,000 wafers by the end of 2027. Earlier this year, Samsung introduced its tenth-generation V-NAND (V10) technology.
SK Hynix is also upgrading its Dalian, China, facility and has received permission from US authorities to produce chips with up to 240 layers. The company plans to conduct research and development on NAND chips with more than 300 layers and is discussing plans to establish manufacturing operations in the United States.
In 2025, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) stated it would not approve licenses for expanding production capacity or upgrading technology at Chinese factories owned by foreign semiconductor manufacturers. YMTC mainly manufactures 160-layer and 232-layer NAND chips, though it produces limited quantities of 294-layer products.
Reports indicate that YMTC is preparing to manufacture chips with more than 300 layers. Solidigm is preparing for a potential listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
