China's AI Computing Investment Spreads to Mid-Sized Companies, Presenting Both Opportunities and Challenges for Samsung and SK Hynix
nashnova research
China's AI infrastructure buying is spilling from tech giants into mid-cap listed companies, with single server contracts running into hundreds of millions of yuan; but domestic memory makers are closing in fast, leaving Samsung and SK Hynix uncertain whether they can capture the wave.
How much are mid-cap firms spending on compute?
Smart-city services provider eGOVA (亿高沃) spent RMB 576 million (~$85.9 million) on September 24 to buy 64 servers — a single purchase equal to 15% of its total assets.
A subsidiary of Xingyun Tech (星云科技) signed a five-year, RMB 872 million AI-compute leasing contract, turning server hardware into a recurring revenue stream.
This means → AI compute investment is no longer a big-tech exclusive. Mid-cap companies are committing sums large enough to reshape their own balance sheets.
How aggressive is the data-center buildout?
Sinnet (光环新网) originally planned to invest RMB 1.235 billion in an AI compute center in Inner Mongolia in October 2024, deploying 3,200 server racks.
By September 2026 the budget had jumped to roughly RMB 2.5 billion — up 102.4% — and planned racks expanded to 7,000–10,000.
The company said demand from large AI clients far exceeds 2024 levels; the original plan could no longer handle large-scale orders.
In plain terms = demand is outrunning construction. The data center isn't finished yet, and it's already too small.
How far has China's domestic memory caught up?
CXMT (长鑫存储) announced on September 20 that its fifth-generation DRAM platform "G5" has entered mass production, with a storage-array effective half-pitch of 11.95 nm — narrowing the gap with leading makers.
This means → CXMT is moving from "can fabricate" to "can ship at volume." A low-price offensive to grab customers in China's smartphone and PC markets is the likely next step.
In NAND flash, YMTC (长江存储) reached 14% of global shipments in Q2 2026, ranking third — behind Samsung at 25% and SK Hynix at 22%.
This reflects a visible rise in China's memory self-sufficiency. Korean makers' status as default suppliers in China is loosening.
Does SK Hynix face a regulatory constraint too?
When SK Hynix acquired Intel's NAND business in 2021, China's antitrust authority imposed conditions: maintain reasonable pricing and a certain output level in the Chinese enterprise SSD (eSSD) market for five years.
SK Hynix acknowledged in a 2026 filing that the conditions may limit its ability to raise NAND prices in China.
Key detail: the conditions do not expire automatically — China's regulator will decide whether to grant an exemption based on market conditions at the time.
In plain terms = the window of surging Chinese AI-server and eSSD demand overlaps precisely with this regulatory review period. SK Hynix cannot raise prices without regulatory clearance.
China's AI compute expansion — are Korean memory makers winners or the ones being replaced?
BULL
Massive demand growth
Mid-cap firms are piling in; server and data-center orders far exceed 2024 expectations.
High-end barriers remain
Chinese makers have not yet mass-produced HBM-class memory; Korean firms retain a short-term moat.
BEAR
Domestic substitution accelerating
CXMT DRAM in mass production, YMTC at 14% global NAND share — both competing on price.
Regulation limits pricing power
SK Hynix's China eSSD pricing is constrained by antitrust conditions from the Intel deal.
Policy favors self-reliance
Chinese buyers are incentivized to source domestic memory, even at a slight performance trade-off.
In plain terms = China's AI compute pie is growing fast, but how large a slice Korean makers get depends on the pace of domestic substitution and the tightness of regulatory constraints.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。