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Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, better known as YMTC, is preparing to go public on Shanghai’s STAR Market with plans to raise roughly $4.9 billion. If successful, the IPO would cement the company’s position as a cornerstone of China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency push and rank among the largest tech listings the STAR Market has ever seen.
The filing caps years of rapid growth for China’s only vertically integrated 3D NAND flash memory manufacturer. With a target valuation between 200 and 300 billion yuan, or roughly $28 to $42 billion, YMTC is pricing itself in the same weight class as established global memory giants.
From tutoring phase to trillion-yuan ambitions
YMTC filed for pre-IPO tutoring with CITIC Securities, its sponsor, on May 19, 2026. That preparatory phase wrapped up by August 20, 2026, clearing the path for a formal listing that the company is targeting in the first half of 2027.
The fundraising target sits in a range of 20 to 40 billion yuan, which translates to approximately $2.8 to $5.6 billion. The $4.9 billion figure widely cited in coverage falls comfortably within that band.
For context, the STAR Market was created in 2019 specifically to funnel capital toward domestic technology companies. It has looser profitability requirements than Shanghai’s main board, making it a natural home for capital-intensive chipmakers that are still scaling.
YMTC wouldn’t be the first Chinese memory chipmaker to test these waters. CXMT, a DRAM manufacturer, previously listed on the STAR Market and delivered robust performance, setting a favorable precedent.
Revenue is doing the talking
In the first quarter of 2026, the company’s revenue surpassed 20 billion yuan, representing more than 100% growth year-on-year.
By late 2025, YMTC had captured an estimated 13 to 14% share of the global NAND flash market. That positions it behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. The company was founded around 2016, meaning it achieved that market share in under a decade.
The geopolitical layer
YMTC has been at the center of the US-China technology competition for years, finding itself on various US trade restriction lists designed to limit China’s access to advanced chipmaking tools and technology. China’s government has made semiconductor independence a top-level policy priority, channeling subsidies and regulatory support toward companies like YMTC. The STAR Market listing would give the company access to a deep pool of Chinese institutional and retail capital, reducing its dependence on foreign funding sources.
What to watch as the listing approaches
At the upper end of the range, a $42 billion valuation would price YMTC at roughly two times Micron’s price-to-sales ratio based on recent quarterly revenue run rates.
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