Lawyers claim that the trio has cut the supply of consumer – or 'conventional' – DRAM in defiance of 'all economic and business logic'. Chip giants SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron are facing a class action lawsuit for alleged anticompetitive behavior in the DRAM market.
Chip giants SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron are being sued in a class action lawsuit for engaging in 'concerted anticompetitive behavior' in the DRAM market. The lawsuit alleges that the companies coordinated their exit from DDR3 and DDR4 production to focus on high-bandwidth memory for data centers, while also fixing supplies and prices since 2022. This move has led to a 700% increase in conventional DRAM prices over the last four years.
The legal filing also mentions a past criminal conspiracy between Samsung, Hynix, and Micron to fix DRAM prices from 1998 to 2002. Lawyers argue that the high capital requirements and complex processes involved in setting up a DRAM fab make it challenging for new players to enter the market and compete with the three companies. The lawsuit represents consumers and brick-and-mortar retailers affected by the alleged anticompetitive practices.
SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron have shifted their focus to providing hardware for AI data centers, leading to a shortage in consumer-facing DRAM and NAND supply, causing prices to surge. This shortage has impacted companies like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Valve, resulting in increased costs for their gaming hardware. Industry experts have described the current hardware market as 'totally crazy', with Micron reporting a significant 1,398% profit increase in its latest financial quarter.
