Nio received about 18.24 million CXMT shares, though the stake is subject to an 18-month lockup.
- CXMT surged more than 530% from its 8.66 yuan IPO price, increasing the paper value of Nio’s $23 million investment.
- CXMT already supplies LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X automotive memory used across several Nio models, including the ONVO L60, ES6, ES8, ET5 and ET7.
- The investment comes as rising memory costs squeeze Nio, with CEO William Li saying higher raw-material costs added nearly 20,000 yuan to each ES8.
U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) rose 2% overnight late Sunday as investors focused on the EV maker’s investment in ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) after the Chinese dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) manufacturer surged over 500% in its STAR Market debut.
Nio’s U.S.-listed shares fell 3% on Friday to $4.49, extending their losing streak to seven sessions. The stock also posted its worst week since May and is on track for a third consecutive monthly decline.
Nio’s $23M CXMT Bet Pays Off
CXMT priced its IPO at 8.66 yuan ($1.28) per share and later traded around 54.65 yuan, up more than 530%. Nio invested 158 million yuan in CXMT through its unit Nio Power Technology (Hefei), receiving about 18.24 million shares subject to an 18-month lockup.
CXMT’s debut increased the paper value of Nio’s holding, though Nio cannot sell the shares during the lockup period. The two companies’ relationship goes beyond an equity investment. CXMT supplies automotive-grade low-power double data rate 4X and 5X memory, or LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X, to Nio, with its chips already used across models including the ONVO L60, ES6, ES8, ET5 and ET7. Nio’s self-developed Shenji NX9031 intelligent-driving chip is also compatible with LPDDR5X memory.
Memory Costs Put Nio Under Pressure
The investment comes as rising memory prices squeeze automakers deploying increasingly sophisticated driver-assistance and smart-cockpit systems. Nio CEO William Li has called memory prices the company’s biggest cost pressure this year. He recently said that higher raw-material costs had added nearly 20,000 yuan to the cost of each ES8 sport utility vehicle, or SUV, and that fully passing those increases on to buyers would theoretically require a 30,000 yuan price hike. Nio has instead been working with suppliers to contain costs and maintain stable vehicle pricing.
CXMT Becomes China’s IPO Sensation
CXMT raised 57.9 billion yuan, or $8.5 billion, in its IPO, setting a new fundraising record for Shanghai’s Science and Technology Innovation Board, commonly known as the STAR Market. Proceeds could reach 66.6 billion yuan if the over-allotment, or greenshoe, option is fully exercised. At around 54.65 yuan per share, the company’s market cap hit 3.66 trillion yuan, or about $540 billion.
Nio joined a heavyweight list of strategic investors that also included Xiaomi, Chery, Alibaba Cloud and ZTE. CXMT’s LPDDR revenue hit about 40.7 billion yuan in 2025, more than doubling year over year.
How Do Retail Traders Feel About NIO?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for NIO slipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ levels a day ago amid a 6% rise in 24-hour message volumes.
One user said, “$NIO William investment in changxin technology IPO already up 500% in the first day. Meanwhile, nio investors are left drowning. Nothing much to comment about this CEO”
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Another user said, “$NIO Cxmt up 530% i hope nio exercises their options to buy more at 500% less!”
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Nio’s U.S.-listed stock has declined 7% over the past year.
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