Micron, SanDisk Face New China Rival: Trouble for MU and SNDK Ahead?

China’s CXMT Corp. is reportedly preparing to enter NAND flash memory after capturing nearly 10% of global DRAM revenue, a move that could eventually pressure Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) and SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) in a fast-growing part of the AI memory boom. Micron’s NAND revenue jumped 99.2% from the prior quarter to $11.85 billion in the second quarter, while SanDisk’s climbed 50.7% to nearly $8.97 billion, according to TrendForce. CXMT now reportedly wants in. The Chinese chipmaker plans to establish a NAND research and development line at a new Beijing plant and has discussed the project with potential customers, including an AI startup, Reuters reported Friday. It remains unclear when the line would start operating or whether CXMT plans to move beyond R&D and trial production into large-scale commercial manufacturing. CXMT Has Already Shaken Up DRAM CXMT’s global DRAM revenue share reached 9.5% in the second quarter, up from 7.6% three months earlier, according to TrendForce. Its shares surged 466% in their July Shanghai debut, vaulting CXMT to the top of China’s stock market by valuation on its first day after an $8.6 billion IPO. CXMT closed at 55.54 yuan Friday in Shanghai, about 13% above its first-day close and more than six times its IPO price. The NAND push would take CXMT into another memory market benefiting from the AI boom. Data centers require growing amounts of solid-state storage, while manufacturers have prioritized investment in DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, limiting additions to NAND capacity. TrendForce expects tight NAND supply to ease only in the second half of 2027. China’s NAND Push Won’t Fix Today’s Shortage China already has one major NAND producer in YMTC, the country’s leading flash-memory manufacturer. Counterpoint Research says YMTC shipped about 14% of global NAND bits in the second quarter, making it the world’s third-largest supplier by volume. CXMT’s move into NAND could eventually give China a second major domestic supplier and add more competition for Micron and SanDisk. But that threat is longer term. Prediction market traders remain bullish on the wider AI spending cycle driving memory demand. Polymarket traders give Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) a 74% chance of ending 2026 as the world’s largest company, with about $7.4 million wagered. For Micron and SanDisk, CXMT looks more like a future competitive threat than an answer to tight supply today. Benzinga reported earlier this week that new factories capable of materially easing the broader memory shortage may not reach full production until 2028 or 2029. Image: Shutterstock Read Also: Oracle, CoreWeave Dump on AI's $3.6 Trillion Financing Bill