China’s top memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), will supply its latest LPDDR6 DRAM chips for Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship foldable smartphone, marking a significant step in Beijing’s push to build a more self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain.
CXMT said on Saturday that it has begun mass production of LPDDR6 memory and will supply the chips for Xiaomi’s new 18 Fold smartphone, which is scheduled for release in September. Xiaomi confirmed the partnership on its official Weibo account.
The deal brings together two of China’s most important efforts to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor suppliers. Xiaomi is developing its own smartphone processors, while CXMT is rapidly expanding its capabilities in advanced memory, a market dominated globally by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
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LPDDR6 is CXMT’s most advanced DRAM technology for mobile devices. Its introduction comes less than a year after the company began mass production of LPDDR5, highlighting the pace at which the Chinese chipmaker is attempting to close the technology gap with established global competitors.
The development is notable because Xiaomi is also expected to use its latest in-house 3-nanometre processor, the Xring O3, in the new foldable phone. The processor is designed to support LPDDR6 memory.
Together, the use of a domestically produced advanced memory chip and Xiaomi’s proprietary processor is expected to give the Chinese smartphone maker greater control over key components in a premium device category where Huawei currently holds a strong position in China.
Xiaomi’s move into high-end foldables comes as Chinese smartphone manufacturers seek to capture more of the premium market and reduce exposure to overseas chip suppliers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. Xiaomi previously said devices powered by its first proprietary Xring O1 processor had surpassed 1 million cumulative shipments across smartphones, tablets and watches.
CXMT’s financial performance also illustrates the rapid expansion of its business. In its first earnings report since listing, the company reported a sharp turnaround to profit in the first half of the year, while revenue surged 874% year on year to 150.3 billion yuan ($22.36 billion), according to the company.
CXMT said it had also shipped samples of LPDDR6 chips to customers for use in mobile devices, servers and smart cars. The expansion beyond smartphones is significant because memory is a critical component across the artificial intelligence, automotive and data-center industries. The company is seeking to establish itself as a credible domestic alternative to the world’s leading DRAM producers at a time when China is facing extensive U.S. restrictions on access to advanced semiconductor technology and equipment.
CXMT’s progress has also brought increased scrutiny from Washington. On Friday, the company sued the U.S. Department of Defense after being placed on a U.S. list of companies that Washington says are aiding China’s military.
The timing of the Xiaomi partnership gives CXMT an important commercial showcase for its latest technology. A successful deployment of LPDDR6 in a high-profile flagship device could help demonstrate that Chinese memory manufacturers are moving beyond lower-end applications and into increasingly sophisticated consumer electronics.
The arrangement offers Xiaomi a way to deepen control over the semiconductor components inside its most advanced smartphones. For China’s semiconductor industry, it marks another link in an increasingly domestic hardware stack, from processors and memory to the finished device.
The larger challenge will be whether CXMT can sustain its technological progress at scale and compete with Samsung and SK Hynix on performance, yields, cost, and production capacity. The Xiaomi 18 Fold is expected to provide an early test of how far that effort has advanced.