As US chip giant Micron Technology posted better-than-expected quarterly results and offered upbeat guidance, easing market concerns over a potential AI bubble, it also acknowledged the growing capabilities and market share of China’s top memory chipmakers.

When asked about competition from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) during an earnings call on Wednesday, Micron chief business officer Sumit Sadana said they had both grown in capability and market share over the years, although the “overwhelming majority” of their output was still sold within China.

The comments provide mainland China’s memory chip industry with global validation at a time when AI infrastructure spending is reshaping a market long known for boom-and-bust cycles.

Micron, one of the world’s three major high-bandwidth memory (HBM) suppliers alongside South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, reported record fiscal third-quarter results and issued a stronger outlook, citing the rising strategic value of memory in the AI era.

The company reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of US$41.46 billion, up from US$23.86 billion in the previous quarter and US$9.30 billion a year earlier. It forecast record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of US$50 billion, plus or minus US$1 billion, and said it had signed 16 strategic customer agreements that were expected to improve long-term demand visibility.

“We expect tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments coupled with structural supply constraints,” Micron chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said in prepared remarks.