Micron exited the consumer DRAM market in December 2025, leaving Samsung and SK Hynix as the only two major suppliers. It is now rumored that SK Hynix may follow Micron's lead, stopping the production of consumer DRAM and NAND chips.
What’s crazy is that they aren’t just doing this because they make more money with AI. They’re doing this because these AI companies have basically pre-ordered a fuck ton of components that have not been manufactured yet to be put into computers that haven’t even been made yet for datacenters that are not even built yet all on an electrical grid that hasn’t caught up. As long as the manufacturers get paid they don’t really give a shit, but this is so unsustainable it would be hilarious if it weren’t so catastrophic for the rest of us. And as long as the line goes up as they all circle jerk their money around they’ll all be happy and can pretend the economy is good.
Yeah more or less. The Verge did a whole podcast episode on RAM over the holidays. It was a good explainer.
Basically, RAM that goes into AI data centers isn’t necessarily the same as RAM in your computer. There are only 3 companies making RAM. They are altering their fabrication lines to accommodate for the commercial/AI ram so they can make more money. That means they can’t produce consumer RAM.
It’s hard and expensive to build RAM and chip factories because there is one company that makes the machine that does it. So anyone who wants to stay a RAM factory is at their mercy.
The Verge reporter said he expects ram prices might go up significantly more in the next 6months to a year.
This is just a meme, I hope it all comes down and the bubble bursts and I can build a PC but te thought that a supply chain operates one piece at a time is ridiculous.
It is purely about the line going up, but they are thinking ten steps ahead which is why tech wants fascists who grab mineral resources.
What’s crazy is that they aren’t just doing this because they make more money with AI.
No, they really are making more money by selling whole wafers rather than packaging and soldering onto DIMMs. The AI companies are throwing so much money at this that it’s just much more profitable for the memory companies to sell directly to them.
I mean, you took the first sentence out and ignored the rest of what I said. My point was that yes that is a reason, but it’s not the only reason. My point was they don’t wanna sell to consumers because Elon Musk is just gonna pre-order their entire stock for the next two years.
Everything else that you said seems to fit the general thesis that they’re making a lot more money selling to AI companies.
If those reasons were still true but the memory companies stood to not make as much money on those deals, I guarantee the memory manufacturers wouldn’t have taken the deal. They only care about money, and the other reasons you list are just the mechanisms for making more money.
What’s crazy is that they aren’t just doing this because they make more money with AI. They’re doing this because these AI companies have basically pre-ordered a fuck ton of components that have not been manufactured yet to be put into computers that haven’t even been made yet for datacenters that are not even built yet all on an electrical grid that hasn’t caught up. As long as the manufacturers get paid they don’t really give a shit, but this is so unsustainable it would be hilarious if it weren’t so catastrophic for the rest of us. And as long as the line goes up as they all circle jerk their money around they’ll all be happy and can pretend the economy is good.
Yeah more or less. The Verge did a whole podcast episode on RAM over the holidays. It was a good explainer.
Basically, RAM that goes into AI data centers isn’t necessarily the same as RAM in your computer. There are only 3 companies making RAM. They are altering their fabrication lines to accommodate for the commercial/AI ram so they can make more money. That means they can’t produce consumer RAM.
It’s hard and expensive to build RAM and chip factories because there is one company that makes the machine that does it. So anyone who wants to stay a RAM factory is at their mercy.
The Verge reporter said he expects ram prices might go up significantly more in the next 6months to a year.
This is just a meme, I hope it all comes down and the bubble bursts and I can build a PC but te thought that a supply chain operates one piece at a time is ridiculous.
It is purely about the line going up, but they are thinking ten steps ahead which is why tech wants fascists who grab mineral resources.
No, they really are making more money by selling whole wafers rather than packaging and soldering onto DIMMs. The AI companies are throwing so much money at this that it’s just much more profitable for the memory companies to sell directly to them.
I mean, you took the first sentence out and ignored the rest of what I said. My point was that yes that is a reason, but it’s not the only reason. My point was they don’t wanna sell to consumers because Elon Musk is just gonna pre-order their entire stock for the next two years.
Everything else that you said seems to fit the general thesis that they’re making a lot more money selling to AI companies.
If those reasons were still true but the memory companies stood to not make as much money on those deals, I guarantee the memory manufacturers wouldn’t have taken the deal. They only care about money, and the other reasons you list are just the mechanisms for making more money.