In Depth: Memory Shortage Creates Space for China’s Lesser-Known Chipmakers

Chinese companies spot an opportunity as AI data centers lock up capacity of the world’s top producers like Samsung, leaving smaller buyers struggling to secure a supply of the all-important chips

In late October, Xiaomi Corp. founder Lei Jun took to social media to complain about how far memory chip prices had risen, drawing attention to a problem that has heaped cost pressure on manufacturers across China’s consumer-electronics industry.

Lei’s comment coincided with the launch of Xiaomi’s Redmi K90 smartphone, the price of which has risen as much as 400 yuan ($56.81) compared with the prior model with the same configuration. That same month, Chinese smartphone heavyweights Oppo Co. Ltd. and Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. released new handsets with higher prices. And the market broadly expects smartphone prices to climb further in 2026.