YMTC is planning a major manufacturing expansion, with plans to build two additional factories on top of one already nearing completion. When all three are running at full capacity, YMTC’s total output would more than double from its current 200,000 wafers per month to 400,000 wafers per month (each new plant is designed for 100,000 wafers monthly). The third fab, located in Wuhan alongside the existing two plants, has already been built and is currently being equipped.
The fab is expected to start operations later this year and reach 50,000 wafers per month by 2027. Over half of the equipment has been sourced domestically, including tooling for vertical layer stacking, underscoring how strongly the company has shifted toward local suppliers since the US added it to the Entity List in December 2022. More recently, the U.S. Government’s Bureau of Industry and Security reportedly removed YMTC from the list of restricted Chinese companies.
The two planned factories do not yet have confirmed locations or target dates, but all three new plants will reportedly allocate some capacity to DRAM production alongside NAND. YMTC has already sent LPDDR samples to clients and expects feedback by year-end, which will help determine how aggressively it expands its DRAM ambitions. This points to a broader strategy aimed at diversifying beyond its established NAND business.
In NAND, YMTC already holds 11.8% of the global market, on par with Sandisk and not far behind SK Hynix (16%), Kioxia (15.9%), and Micron (13.3%), while Samsung leads at 30.4%. UBS expects the YMTC shares to pass 14% by early 2027. The company is also advancing its Xtacking 4.0 architecture, which is described as competitive with offerings from the industry’s leading suppliers.
