Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers — ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) — to help mitigate the impact of a global memory shortage that has forced the company to raise prices across its product line [citation:1][citation:2].
📋 Talks ongoing · no final agreement
Apple is seeking to buy memory components from CXMT and YMTC for use in devices sold in China. Talks between Apple and the companies are ongoing, and nothing is final yet [citation:1][citation:12]. Both CXMT and YMTC are on a recently updated U.S. Defence Department "1260H" list of Chinese entities believed to support Beijing’s military [citation:1][citation:3].
Apple's effort has included appeals by CEO Tim Cook to Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to help soften the political fallout from any possible deal with the Chinese chipmakers [citation:1][citation:2][citation:12]. While Apple doesn't need formal U.S. approval to buy chips from CXMT or YMTC, the company would risk significant backlash from national security hawks in Washington amid heightened U.S.-China tensions [citation:1][citation:2].
AI-driven memory shortage · unprecedented price surge
Apple and other consumer electronics manufacturers are grappling with an unprecedented squeeze on memory chip supply, triggered by the global AI boom [citation:1][citation:12]. High-end processors used in data centres require vast amounts of memory, and chipmakers have shifted production to serve this fast-growing, high-premium market [citation:1][citation:6]. The AI "siphoning effect" has caused DRAM prices to soar by 386% in 2025 and 207% for NAND [citation:6].
📈 Price impact · Mac, iPad, Vision Pro
Last week, Apple raised prices of all Macs, iPads, home devices, and the Vision Pro — the first such global adjustment in years — to offset cost increases caused by the memory shortage [citation:1][citation:12]. An Apple spokesperson said the rapid expansion of AI was to blame, adding that Apple had “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” [citation:1][citation:12] iPhone prices have not yet changed, but analysts expect adjustments with the next generation [citation:8][citation:11].
CEO Tim Cook described the memory supply crunch as “a once‑in‑a‑century flood” — something he has never witnessed in over 40 years of his career [citation:5][citation:6].
If Apple can secure chips from CXMT and YMTC, its memory supplier roster would expand to five. Currently, Apple relies on Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology for all its mobile and desktop memory needs [citation:1][citation:12]. Those three suppliers have struggled to keep pace with demand and are shifting capacity toward AI data centres, squeezing consumer‑grade memory supply [citation:6][citation:7].
🏭 Supplier capacity expansion
Earlier this week, Samsung and SK Hynix vowed to spend more than $880 billion to build new chipmaking plants to rapidly expand capacity. Micron has also outlined billions in additional U.S. production investment [citation:1][citation:12].
CXMT & YMTC · China's memory champions
CXMT (based in Hefei) focuses on DRAM — the "working memory" for devices — with products covering DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5X. It plans to mass‑produce 15nm process in 2026 and has entered 12‑layer HBM [citation:4]. YMTC (based in Wuhan) focuses on 3D NAND flash — the "storage" memory — and is China's only IDM with a complete 3D NAND industrial chain, with its Xtacking architecture now beyond 232 layers [citation:4].
For Apple, CXMT represents a critical alternative. Unlike the three global giants, CXMT's capacity is almost entirely focused on consumer‑grade DRAM, not AI‑oriented HBM. It has better supply elasticity and pricing, making it a realistic option to break the oligopoly [citation:6][citation:11]. By the end of 2026, CXMT's wafer capacity is expected to reach 13% of global DRAM capacity, potentially surpassing Micron as the world's third‑largest DRAM maker [citation:10].
⚠️ Political hurdles · Washington opposition
Both CXMT and YMTC are on the U.S. Defence Department’s 1260H list, and YMTC has also been placed on the Commerce Department’s “Entity List” since 2022, restricting U.S. companies from selling technology to it without export licenses [citation:3][citation:12]. Some Trump administration officials have expressed opposition to allowing Apple to add these two Chinese firms to its supply chains [citation:1][citation:2].
Apple's lobbying push is therefore focused on securing guarantees — either that CXMT won't be added to the Entity List, or that Apple can obtain a special license to ensure supply‑chain continuity [citation:10][citation:11].
Even if Washington grants approval, supply availability remains a major challenge. CXMT's capacity is already being prioritised for domestic Chinese customers — including Tencent, Alibaba Cloud, ByteDance, and Xiaomi — through long‑term agreements [citation:9][citation:11]. Industry analysts suggest that CXMT will likely keep most of its output for local clients, leaving limited volume for Apple [citation:9].