Memory chip giant Micron Technology announced it will exit the consumer memory business to fully focus on producing advanced HBM chips for AI data centers. This strategic shift comes amid global memory chip supply constraints and may exacerbate shortages in consumer electronics.
On Wednesday, Micron stated it will discontinue global sales of its "Crucial" brand consumer products through retailers, e-commerce platforms, and distributors, though shipments will continue through February 2026. Chief Commercial Officer Sumit Sadana explained the difficult decision was driven by surging demand for memory in AI-powered data centers, requiring prioritization of strategic clients.
Micron's shares fell 3% following the announcement, though the stock remains up 178% year-to-date. Analysts note the AI infrastructure boom is causing shortages across critical components including memory, with major companies planning multibillion-dollar data center investments that further boost demand.
According to TrendForce, Micron ranks as the world's third-largest DRAM supplier after Samsung and SK Hynix, with the trio controlling 92% of the DRAM market. Micron holds 13% share in NAND flash memory for SSDs. Its exit leaves a significant void in consumer memory, with unclear prospects for replacement suppliers amid warnings of multi-year shortages.
Micron will fulfill existing consumer channel orders until February 2026 but will shutter the nearly 30-year-old Crucial brand, known for NVMe SSDs, external storage, and DDR4/DDR5 memory modules popular among PC upgraders.
The company has been transitioning toward HBM (high-bandwidth memory), now the most competitive arena among the top three memory suppliers. HBM's vertical chip stacking reduces power consumption while handling massive AI workloads, commanding premium pricing over consumer memory.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra revealed in September that Micron's HBM revenue reached nearly $2 billion in the August quarter, annualizing to $8 billion. By contrast, the Crucial business was never broken out in financials. Summit Insights analyst Kinngai Chan noted consumer memory wasn't a significant growth driver.
Micron's cloud storage division posted 213% year-over-year growth last quarter, reflecting strong AI data center demand. Goldman Sachs raised Micron's price target from $180 to $205, anticipating "healthy upside" in upcoming earnings due to sustained memory pricing strength.
The move highlights how AI infrastructure expansion is straining supplies of critical components. Tech giants' planned data center investments worth hundreds of billions are creating global memory constraints.
AI chips from Nvidia and AMD consume vast quantities of cutting-edge memory. For instance, Nvidia's GB200 GPUs pack 192GB memory each, while Google's Ironwood TPUs require 192GB HBM. AMD's MI350 AI chips contain 288GB HBM—far exceeding the 16GB typical in laptops.
This demand disparity pushes Micron to allocate limited capacity toward higher-margin AI data center markets. Micron's exit will significantly impact consumer memory availability. As the third-largest DRAM supplier and key provider of GDDR7 memory for Nvidia's RTX 5000 GPUs, its departure removes trusted Crucial options for PC builders.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix are also prioritizing profitability over risky capacity expansions. With shortages affecting everything from smartphone flash memory to advanced HBM, Micron's exit may intensify consumer market supply pressures.
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