In 2022, a Shenzhen state-owned company called Shengwei XU announced plans to build a 12-inch DRAM factory using 28nm process technology, targeting a capacity of 140,000 wafers per month. They even hired a former TSMC fab director and the ex-president of Elpida Memory.
https://twitter.com/SemiconductorsX/status/2075932441408356647?s=20
Fast forward to 2025, and observers who visited the site say construction is still ongoing. Shengwei, along with Pengxin Micro and Pengxin Xu, has been dubbed one of Huawei's three "shadow fabs."
The latest whispers claim Huawei is now directly backing the factory alongside Shengwei and the government. But here's the kicker: all the key specs — the 28nm node, the 140,000 wafer target, the management roster — were public knowledge in 2022. So much for a secret project.