TMTPOST -- Yangtze Memory Technologies' parent company has closed a major funding round, boosting its post-investment valuation to $22 billion.

Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui Beverage Co., Ltd. — the company behind China's popular "Six Walnuts" drink — on Friday disclosed that its 99.9%-owned subsidiary, Wuhu Wenming Quan Hong Investment Management Partnership, invested about 1.6 billion yuan ($221 million) into Yangtze Memory Technologies Holding Co., Ltd.

The deal gives Quan Hong a 0.99% stake in Yangtze Memory Holdings, with a subscribed capital of about 1.11 billion yuan ($154 million).

In addition to Quan Hong Investment, the financing round attracted backing from major Chinese institutions, including units of Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Bank of China — each securing around a 0.62% stake. Other participants included Shanghai State-Owned Assets Operation and China Internet Investment Fund among a total of 15 investors.

Following the capital injection, Yangtze Memory Holdings' subscribed capital base will rise from 105.2 billion yuan to about 111.8 billion yuan — an increase of approximately 6.54 billion yuan ($904 million). Based on Quan Hong Investment's stake acquisition, the total raised in this round is estimated at 9.44 billion yuan ($1.3 billion). The post-money valuation is now pegged at approximately 161.6 billion yuan ($22.3 billion).

Yangtze Memory Holdings, established in 2016 under Changkong Group, owns leading Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC). Changkong Group also controls several other semiconductor businesses, including IPO-bound Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor, Hongmao Microelectronics, YMTC Technology Services, Changcun Capital, and the Yangtze Advanced Storage Industry Innovation Center.

Financial disclosures show that Changkong Group posted a net profit of 531 million yuan ($73.3 million) in 2023, but swung to a net loss of 84.2 million yuan ($11.6 million) over the first nine months of 2024. As of September 2024, the group's net assets stood at 134.7 billion yuan ($18.6 billion).

YMTC, an integrated device manufacturer (IDM), designs, manufactures, and packages flash memory chips and solid-state drives (SSDs) for global markets. Its technologies power mobile communications, consumer electronics, servers, and data centers.

In 2017, YMTC became the first Chinese company to independently design and produce 3D NAND flash memory. The company's proprietary "Xtacking" architecture — which separates and then hybrid-bonds memory and logic circuits — underpins its competitive edge.

Speaking at the 2025 CFMS | MemoryS Flash Summit, YMTC marketing director Fan Zengxu highlighted Xtacking's three key advantages: faster I/O speeds, higher storage density, and superior reliability.

Over four generations of Xtacking evolution, YMTC has launched a suite of products — including the X4-9060 (512Gb TLC), X4-9070 (1Tb TLC), and X4-6080 (2Tb QLC) — aimed at embedded storage, consumer SSDs, and enterprise SSD markets.