Micron Technology, a leading memory manufacturer, has announced its decision to exit the consumer RAM market after nearly three decades. The company's brand, Crucial, which was launched in 1996 as Micron's consumer arm for RAM and storage upgrades, will no longer sell RAM products directly to PC builders and enthusiasts.
According to Micron, the reason behind this move is the surge in demand from AI data centers, where high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is in short supply. The company has been reallocating its production capacity away from consumer products toward these more profitable enterprise components, including HBM. This shift has led to a significant imbalance between AI demand and consumer supply.
The decision comes at a time when the DRAM contract prices have skyrocketed by 171 percent year-over-year, making it difficult for companies like Framework to remain competitive without selling RAM directly to consumers. As a result, Framework has stopped selling standalone RAM kits to prevent scalping.
Micron's exit from the consumer market will leave PC builders with one fewer option when reaching for RAM sticks. The company plans to continue shipping Crucial consumer products through the end of its fiscal second quarter in February 2026 and will honor warranties on existing products. It will also redeploy affected employees to other positions within the company.
In a statement, Micron's EVP and chief business officer Sumit Sadana reflected on the brand's 29-year run, expressing gratitude to customers and partners for their support over the years. Despite the closure of its consumer arm, Crucial will remain synonymous with technical leadership and quality products in the memory and storage market.
The decision highlights the increasingly complex landscape of the memory market, where AI demand is driving growth in enterprise segments while leaving consumers with limited options. As the industry continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how this trend will impact other players in the market.
According to Micron, the reason behind this move is the surge in demand from AI data centers, where high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is in short supply. The company has been reallocating its production capacity away from consumer products toward these more profitable enterprise components, including HBM. This shift has led to a significant imbalance between AI demand and consumer supply.
The decision comes at a time when the DRAM contract prices have skyrocketed by 171 percent year-over-year, making it difficult for companies like Framework to remain competitive without selling RAM directly to consumers. As a result, Framework has stopped selling standalone RAM kits to prevent scalping.
Micron's exit from the consumer market will leave PC builders with one fewer option when reaching for RAM sticks. The company plans to continue shipping Crucial consumer products through the end of its fiscal second quarter in February 2026 and will honor warranties on existing products. It will also redeploy affected employees to other positions within the company.
In a statement, Micron's EVP and chief business officer Sumit Sadana reflected on the brand's 29-year run, expressing gratitude to customers and partners for their support over the years. Despite the closure of its consumer arm, Crucial will remain synonymous with technical leadership and quality products in the memory and storage market.
The decision highlights the increasingly complex landscape of the memory market, where AI demand is driving growth in enterprise segments while leaving consumers with limited options. As the industry continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how this trend will impact other players in the market.
... and they chose the latter! its not surprising tho, AI demand has been on the rise and everyone's trying to get in on that action 
. but it means consumers are stuck with fewer options when it comes to buying ram sticks 
... guess framework is gonna have to step up their game to fill the void 
I'm not surprised though, AI is taking over everything and they're making bank off of those enterprise contracts. It's like the rest of us are just afterthoughts at this point 
. And Framework has to stop selling RAM kits because prices are too high? That's not their problem, it's Micron's for not scaling up production quickly enough 
. Anyway, I guess we'll have to find another brand to buy our RAM from now... 
so I just heard that Micron's gonna stop making RAM for our PCs... like what's gonna happen now? 
is everyone gonna have to go somewhere else to buy good RAM? 
and it's not like they're even selling their brand anymore, just kinda phasing it out... that doesn't seem right. 
). they've been saying for ages that AI demand is where its at, and now it seems they're reaping the rewards. as for framework, good luck to 'em trying to compete with the likes of samsung or sk hynix... i feel bad for the employees who got axed tho 
When tech giants make drastic decisions like Micron's exit from the consumer RAM market, it can be a tough pill to swallow for PC builders and enthusiasts. But hey, at least they got to enjoy some quality Crucial RAM while it lasted 
. On a more serious note, this move just goes to show that AI is changing the game in the memory market – time will tell how other players adapt 
and it's not like they were just making tiny RAM sticks or anything, Crucial was all about those high-performance kits too 
. It's like the industry is abandoning consumers altogether 
. On one hand, I get why Micron wants to focus on enterprise components - AI demand is real 
they'll have to find alternative brands to get that sick RAM speed now Micron's been a staple in this market for ages, and it's sad to see them go 
but at the same time i can understand why they made this move with all these AI data centers popping up and needin' more HBM production capacity 
.
... this is just great for the scalpers 
it's crazy how fast tech is evolving. 
meanwhile, AI data centers are just eating up all the hbm