Recently, the administrator of Jiangsu Advanced Memory Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Advanced Memory") issued an announcement, officially announcing that its reorganization plan had completely failed due to serious default by investors. This incident not only marks the end of the last 12-inch wafer fab in the "unfinished wave" of China's semiconductor industry, but also reflects the profound contradiction between capital enthusiasm and industrial rationality in the industry.
Restructuring failed: Investor default became the last straw that broke the camel's back
The reorganization of Times Memory began in July 2023. At that time, the company, which had planned to invest 13 billion yuan to build a 12-inch wafer factory, was accepted for bankruptcy liquidation by the Huaiyin District People's Court of Huai'an City due to insolvency. Its core assets included an ASML lithography machine worth 143 million yuan, but due to outdated technology and debt disputes, the equipment failed to be sold at the auction.
In February 2024, the court ruled that Times Memory entered the reorganization process, and the reorganization investor Huaxin Jie Chuang Integrated Circuit Manufacturing (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huaxin Jie Chuang") proposed a 20 billion yuan reorganization plan. This company, which was established in August 2023 with a registered capital of 2 billion yuan, has a senior management team that is reported to have a background in SMIC(88.790, 1.67, 1.92%) and promised to invest 20 billion yuan to build a wafer foundry empire. However, according to the announcement of the administrator, Huaxin Jie Chuang failed to pay the reorganization funds as agreed, and was still unable to perform after the creditors' meeting agreed to an extension, constituting a serious breach of contract. On June 13, 2025, the administrator legally terminated the "Reorganization Investment Agreement" and terminated the reorganization procedure.
Behind the unfinished project: a typical example of blind expansion and broken capital chain
The fate of Times Memory is a microcosm of the "Great Leap Forward" development of China's semiconductor industry. In 2016, the company was jointly established by Beijing Times All-Core Memory Technology Co., Ltd. and Huaian Yuanxing Investment Co., Ltd., with a plan to produce 100,000 phase change memories (PCM) per year. In 2019, its first 2-megabit PCM product came out, claiming that the technology broke through international blockades. In 2021, the company further launched advanced products such as MLC and 3D XPoint, and was once regarded as a "game changer" in domestic storage technology.
However, in 2020, Times Chip Storage's capital chain broke and it was unable to pay the final payment for equipment, engineering costs and employee wages. In recent years, Times Chip Storage has been subject to execution for a total amount of up to 863 million yuan, involving equipment suppliers, factory contractors, freight companies and former employees. The company's assets can no longer cover its debts, and the original shareholders' equity has been reduced to zero according to law.
Industry warning: Lack of industry rationality amid capital frenzy
The case of Times Memory is not an isolated one. In recent years, projects such as Dehuai Semiconductor, Wuhan Hongxin, and Nanjing Tacoma have blindly pursued large-scale investment and capacity expansion, which ultimately led to problems such as project failure and waste of resources.
In sharp contrast, the industry's leading companies are building barriers through technology iteration and ecological integration. For example, SMIC has achieved a significant increase in the monthly production capacity of 28-nanometer chips through its Shanghai Lingang(9.260, -0.11, -1.17%)and Changdian Technology(33.960, 0.37, 1.10%) has reduced costs through fan-out packaging technology. In addition, the policy level is also strengthening guidance - Shenzhen has set up a 5 billion yuan "Sai Mi Industry Private Equity Fund" to support the optimization of the entire semiconductor chain; Donghai Securities pointed out that AI computing power, AIoT, semiconductor equipment and other fields are becoming structural opportunities.
Future Outlook: Cleaning up unfinished projects and industrial restructuring in parallel
The manager of Times Chip Storage has started a new round of investor recruitment, but the industry generally believes that it is extremely difficult to revive the project. The original shareholder Beijing Times All-Core said that it will continue to promote the marketization of PCM technology through foundry, but will no longer bear shareholder responsibilities.
With the demand for computing power continuing to grow rapidly and AI and semiconductors deeply integrated, the death of Era Memory may mark the industry's transition from "barbaric growth" to "rational reconstruction." Only by respecting the laws of the industry can we occupy a place in the global technology competition.
