On August 13, 2026, Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) surpassed internet giant Tencent Holdings to become China's most valuable company, reaching a market capitalization of $524 billion. The shift highlights investor preference for AI hardware over traditional internet firms. While CXMT benefits from surging DRAM demand and major supply deals with ByteDance and Tencent, Tencent's valuation fell to $510 billion after its Q2 capital expenditure soared 176% to RMB 52.8 billion to fund AI infrastructure.
CXMT overtakes Tencent valuation
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies surpassed Tencent Holdings on August 13, 2026, to become China's most valuable company by market capitalization.
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies maintained a market capitalization of $524 billion on August 13, 2026, while Tencent Holdings' valuation fell to between $510 billion and $511 billion.
Tencent AI spending surge
- ▪Tencent Holdings' capital expenditure rose 176% year-over-year to RMB 52.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026 as the company expanded computing capacity for artificial intelligence.
- ▪Tencent Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of RMB 204.8 billion, representing an 11% year-over-year increase, while its free cash flow fell to negative RMB 13.8 billion.
CXMT DRAM market expansion
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies plans to target a 30% global DRAM market share by 2030 and construct a sixth mega-fab, despite lacking EUV lithography tools.
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies held 7.67% of the global DRAM market in 2025 and ranks as the world's fourth-largest manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory.
Investor preference for semiconductors
- ▪MSCI announced in July 2026 that it would include ChangXin Memory Technologies in the MSCI China All Shares Index, effective August 10, 2026.
- ▪The valuation crossover between ChangXin Memory Technologies and Tencent Holdings reflects a broader market shift favoring artificial intelligence hardware over traditional internet companies.
CXMT customer agreements
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies signed a $3 billion server DRAM agreement with Tencent Holdings in June 2026 and a five-year server DRAM deal worth over $7 billion with ByteDance in July 2026.
- ▪Apple is testing ChangXin Memory Technologies' memory chips for iPhones and Macbooks sold in China, which required Apple to seek special permission from the United States government due to export restrictions.
CXMT revenue growth
- ▪Server products grew to account for 26.5% of ChangXin Memory Technologies' revenue in 2025, up from 8.4% in 2024.
- ▪ChangXin Memory Technologies swung to an operating profit of 35.43 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, recovering from a 2.83 billion yuan loss in the same period of 2025.
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