US Lawsuit Targets Major Chip Makers Over Surging RAM Prices and Supply Constraints
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
A US class action lawsuit accuses Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron of price fixing and deliberately restricting consumer RAM supply while pivoting production toward AI datacentres.
A new class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California accuses Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron of fixing memory prices and intentionally worsening the ongoing RAM crisis. According to reporting by Rock Paper Shotgun, the legal complaint alleges that the three dominant chip manufacturers coordinated their production pivots away from consumer hardware and toward high bandwidth memory designed for AI datacentres. Plaintiffs claim this coordinated shift left a massive void in the market for affordably priced consumer RAM while pushing component costs to unprecedented heights since 2022.
The lawsuit argues that in a truly competitive commodity market, soaring prices should naturally incentivize at least one major manufacturer to ramp up production and capture market share from rivals. Instead, the filing alleges that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron operated as an oligopoly by simultaneously cutting conventional DRAM supply, phasing out older DDR3 and DDR4 memory lines, and refusing to fill the demand gap. High entry barriers and extreme manufacturing costs prevent new competitors from stepping in to normalize pricing, leaving everyday PC builders and system upgraders to absorb the financial impact.
Industry observers are watching closely to see how this legal battle unfolds, especially as hardware manufacturers warn that inflated memory costs may become the permanent baseline for the foreseeable future. For players looking to upgrade their rigs or eyeing upcoming hardware platforms, the outcome of this antitrust action could heavily influence component affordability moving forward. Micron has issued a statement to Rock Paper Shotgun denying the allegations, maintaining that the company competes fairly and in full compliance with the law, while the other defendants face scrutiny over historical precedents of similar market manipulation.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
Tags: Hardware, PC Gaming, Industry News, RAM, Tech
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun