U.S. Micron Technology is exiting the consumer (B2C) memory institutional sector of its product brand "Crucial." Under the Crucial name, Micron has sold DRAM and solid-state drives (SSD) that can be installed in personal PCs and laptops. It will end the consumer sales business it has run for 29 years and focus on producing data center products that are growing with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) services.
Micron said on the 3rd (local time) that it decided to withdraw from the Crucial consumer business. It plans to supply Crucial consumer brand products to major retailers and distributors only through February next year. The company, however, will continue warranty services and the like for Crucial products. Personnel affected by this business reorganization will be reassigned to other business units within Micron.
Sumit Sadana, Micron's chief business officer (CBO, executive vice president), said in a news release that day, "We thank the millions of customers who have been part of Crucial's journey," and noted, "Data center growth based on AI has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage, and we made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business to improve supply for large-scale, strategic customers."
Micron said the decision to withdraw from the Crucial consumer business institutional sector was "to realign the business in line with ongoing portfolio improvements and a long-term revenue growth strategy in memory and storage."
Overseas media including Reuters interpreted Micron's decision to scale back its consumer memory business as a move to intensify competition in high bandwidth memory (HBM) with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. According to Reuters, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta in Oct. asked Micron for "indefinite orders," expressing their intent to take as much volume as it can deliver regardless of price. The analysis is that Micron, as the only HBM supplier in the United States, decided on a "consumer memory business reduction" to focus on the expanding AI market.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, as of the second quarter of this year Micron overtook Samsung Electronics (15%) to rank second in the HBM market with a 21% share. Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron's chief executive officer (CEO), said at the fiscal year 2025 fourth-quarter (June–August) earnings announcement in Sept. that HBM sales rose to about $2 billion. He also said this means annual HBM sales could reach about $8 billion.
Mark Murphy, Micron's chief financial officer (CFO), also said at a recent conference hosted by RBC Capital Markets that HBM4 (6th generation), which has drawn redesign rumors, "will be launched as scheduled." He also announced that supply agreements for HBM, including HBM3E (5th generation) and HBM4, have been completed through 2026. HBM4 shipments are expected to begin in the second quarter of next year.