By Wang Manhua
Lately, Wang Tao (a pseudonym) hasn’t had a moment’s peace. Every day, investors track him down through any channel they can find with just one aim in mind: securing a slice of “old shares” in Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).
Wang’s firm invested in the unlisted flash memory chipmaker back in 2023. At the time, its valuation was 160 billion yuan ($22 billion), based on the company’s last public funding round. Today, desperate buyers are knocking on his door offering to buy those same shares at a price that puts the company’s valuation at 400 billion yuan. Some have even offered to swap their holdings in other high-profile, trendy sectors just to get in.
“I don’t even know how they got my number,” Wang said with a shrug. “The rumors are getting wild — people are saying I’m sitting on shares worth billions of yuan.” The frenzy confirms one thing: YMTC has become the hottest ticket in tech.
The pre-IPO buying rush
The surge of interest didn’t happen overnight. According to Wang, demand for YMTC’s old shares began simmering in late 2025. Two signals from a mid-year board report changed everything.
First, it’s financial performance far exceeded expectations. When Wang invested in 2023, the company was losing money and wasn’t expected to turn a profit until 2025. But the report showed YMTC made a net profit of several billion yuan in 2024, with profits jumping another 20% in the first half of 2025. Second, the report disclosed plans for an initial public offering (IPO).
By September 2025, YMTC’s parent company completed its restructuring into a joint-stock corporation, widely seen as paving the way for an IPO. Rumours in the market grew that the company was aiming to file for a listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market before the second quarter of 2026, with a possible debut as early as the fourth quarter. Valuation estimates ranged between 160 billion and 300 billion yuan, potentially making it one of the largest technology IPOs in China in recent years.
Even before any formal IPO filing, YMTC concept stocks began to rally. Yangyuan Beverage (603156.SS), the parent company of the “Six Walnuts” drink brand, invested 1.6 billion yuan in YMTC in 2023. Following the reform announcement, Yangyuan’s share price surged more than 60% in a week, reaching a record high.
Breaking the international monopoly on memory chips
Operational developments have added further momentum. In January 2026, YMTC announced that construction of its Phase III Wuhan wafer fab had accelerated, bringing forward mass production from 2027 to the second half of 2026. In February, overseas media reported that Apple was exploring partnerships with YMTC and another Chinese memory chipmaker, with a view to including them in its supply chain for iPhones and Macs.
YMTC was born from Wuhan Xinxin in 2016 as part of China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. It was established with investment of $24 billion and a mission to break the American, Japanese, and Korean stranglehold on NAND Flash memory. The company has since delivered rapid technological progress. From its first 32-layer 3D NAND chip to today’s 267-layer products based on its proprietary Xtacking architecture, YMTC has steadily climbed the global ranks. By the third quarter of 2025, its share of the global NAND market had reached 13%, placing it fifth worldwide.
For years, only state-backed funds had access to YMTC. It was only in 2023 that market-oriented investors gained entry, in what participants describe as an intensely competitive fundraising round.
The road to a trillion-yuan valuation
There is near-universal consensus among investors that once listed, YMTC’s market value will top one trillion yuan. The is twofold. Recent IPOs of smaller chip firms have achieved valuations topping 200 billion yuan, even though their revenues are weaker than YMTC and they are losing money. If they can command this type of valuation, a profitable titan like YMTC has massive upside potential.
Second is the impending memory chip super cycle driven by demand for AI computing power. NAND prices surged 207% in 2025 and have continued rising in 2026, with contract prices expected to jump another 60% in the first quarter. Rumours are swirling that Apple is in talks with YMTC to supply chips for iPhones and Macs to offset pricing pressure from traditional suppliers.
As rival Changxin Storage is also nearing its IPO, the consensus among investors is clear: securing a position before the IPO filing has become an urgent priority. Few want to miss what could prove to be a once-in-a-generation super deal.
Source:
ChinaVenture
