Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Sued for Choking RAM Supply to Feed AI

A class-action antitrust lawsuit filed in US federal court accuses the big three of memory manufacturing of running a coordinated scheme to inflate prices. Together, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron control nearly 90% of the global DRAM market, giving them the ultimate superpower to dictate how much a basic PC upgrade hurts the wallet.

A massive antitrust class-action lawsuit claims these three memory giants intentionally choked the supply of standard computer memory to drive up prices. According to the lawsuit, these companies used the sudden explosion of artificial intelligence as the perfect cover. They allegedly gutted their production lines for standard consumer memory like DDR3 and DDR4, shifting about 25% of their total capacity since 2022 to high-margin HBM chips designed for AI accelerators. It turns out making chips for billionaire tech lords pays three to five times better than helping a regular teenager play video games without lag.

This strategic pivot triggered a brutal, artificial deficit in the consumer market, causing regular memory prices to skyrocket by a staggering 700% over the last four years. The plaintiffs argue this was not a natural market shift but a deliberate, synchronized chokehold designed to squeeze maximum profit out of everyday buyers.

To make matters worse, this is not exactly a fresh script for the industry. Both Samsung and SK Hynix previously pleaded guilty to a massive price-fixing conspiracy back in 2005, shell-shocking their corporate bank accounts with fines of $300 million and $185 million respectively. Old habits die hard, especially when the punishment is basically a slap on the wrist compared to the billions raked in during the process.

Industry analysts at Jefferies predict that memory prices will continue to climb regardless of the court's decision, projecting a 40% to 50% jump in the third quarter of 2026, followed by another 30% to 40% hike in the fourth quarter, with no relief in sight until at least 2028.

The corporate playbook remains undefeated: manufacture a crisis, blame the cutting-edge tech trend, and watch the profit margins soar while the legal system slowly drafts a fine that represents about three days of revenue. The AI boom was supposed to democratize intelligence, but so far, it is mostly just democratizing empty wallets for everyone else.

Source: Law360