Chinese Memory Chip Manufacturer CXMT Hires Veteran from SMIC
Chinese companies SMIC and CXMT dominate their respective fields; SMIC specialising in contract chip manufacturing and CXMT focusing on memory chips. According to Taiwanese media, former Executive Vice President of SMIC, Zhou Meisheng, has recently joined CXMT.
Meisheng’s new role in the field of memory chips
At CXMT, the SMIC veteran will supervise R&D and operations, specifically related to memory chip production. As of recently, CXMT has procured a batch of equipment for manufacturing High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), despite not having the technical expertise to do so yet. The purchase was made proactively, a measure to protect the company from potential US sanctions, which were discussed overseas.
Professional track record of Zhou Meisheng
Zhou resigned from SMIC in 2022, completing a five-year tenure as Executive Vice President. Prior to joining SMIC, she held various positions at Chartered Semiconductor and TSMC, and led the Chinese branch of American chip equipment supplier, Lam Research. A Singaporean citizen, Zhou received her education in China and the United States.
CXMT’s ambitions in the chip industry
Nurturing ambitions of producing HBM memory, Chinese company CXMT plans to utilise a surrounding gate transistor structure in memory chip manufacturing – similar to the 3-nm and 2-nm processes of foreign chip makers. It appears that Zhou will be instrumental in moulding these ambitions into reality. CXMT reported the production of China’s first LPDDR5 chips in November the previous year. Founded just in 2016, CXMT has achieved significant success in China’s memory market, and amid tightening sanctions, it is presented as a hopeful contender not only by its Chinese partners but also by its government.
