China has begun mass production of domestically developed immersion DUV lithography machines for the first time, Reuters reported, marking a major step toward semiconductor self-sufficiency. The systems are used to manufacture advanced chips, though they still lag behind those of Dutch market leader ASML. The move comes as US export controls and Dutch restrictions continue to block China's access to the most advanced EUV and some DUV lithography equipment.

Chinese Media: CXMT’s LPDDR6 Nearing Mass Production According to a source cited by Chinese media, CXMT has made further progress in developing LPDDR6, with development validation now nearing completion and mass production one step closer. CXMT’s first LPDDR6 product reportedly has a design data rate of 12,800Mbps and a baseline operating speed of 10,667Mbps when paired with an SoC. It features 16Gb memory dies and a total package capacity of 16GB, using a 1,295-ball PoP package. It is also said to offer significant improvements over LPDDR5X in low-power design and RAS—reliability, availability, and serviceability.

SITUATION EXPLAINED: A Chinese state-backed company started mass-producing DUV lithography tools, a step below EUV but still significant. • ASML shares fell as much as 6.5%, their lowest since early June, after The Information reported a Shanghai-based, state-backed company began mass-producing immersion DUV lithography machines • The company is Shanghai Yuliangsheng, with ties to Huawei and the SiCarrier equipment group, it brought together immersion DUV development teams from other Chinese firms • Plans call for 5 tools this year and 20 next year, with confirmed customers SMIC, CXMT, and Hua Hong Semiconductor • Real caveat: SMIC has actually been trialing this tool since September 2025, and active mass production isn't targeted until 2027 at the earliest • Independent analysis from the AI Futures Project puts commercial-scale Chinese immersion DUV in the mid-2030s, with ASML still holding 98.7% of the immersion lithography market • Chinese chipmakers are currently only allowed to buy ASML's older DUV tools, not its cutting-edge EUV machines • The MATCH Act, moving through Congress, would widen restrictions specifically on immersion DUV equipment • China is separately developing its own domestic EUV machine, but that project remains at the prototype stage and is likely years away from producing working chips • Nikon and Canon are the only other established DUV/lithography vendors outside ASML, alongside SMEE as another Chinese domestic challenger @theojaffee: "Someone has to own the bottom of the market. Chinese DUV would be the same thing for ASML. The frontier leading-edge chip fabs will still be using ASML EUV machines, but less leading-edge fabs would use DUV machines, like, for example, it would be really helpful for Huawei."

Chinese automaker XPENG just announced that the first mass-produced unit of its robotaxi has rolled off the production line in Guangzhou, China. Following in Tesla’s footsteps, these cars use pure-camera vision and AI, meaning no LiDAR or radar. They claim they’re the first automaker in China to achieve mass production of a Robotaxi developed entirely through full-stack, in-house technology. XPENG is targeting a fully-driverless service by early 2027. People say Tesla is crazy for going pure camera vision, but Chinese companies are now following suit. Just the beginning.

👀 #TSMC#'s COUPE on Substrate tech is expected to hit mass production in 2H26 — and if #CPO# gains traction in AI servers, #NVIDIA# may look to lock in high-end substrate capacity early via long-term deals. 💡More: 🔗

According to Korean media reports, Kioxia began mass production of its 10th-generation 3D NAND, BiCS10, at the K2 fab in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, in early July. This could be one reason both Kioxia and SanDisk missed expectations. $SNDK