Have you heard about the global shortage of memory chips?
Micron sure has—and
it said Wednesday that it would exit its consumer memory business under the Crucial brand to double down on the all-important data center market.
The sale of Crucial memory will cease worldwide, but Micron says it plans to continue product shipments until February 2026.
In truth, Micron has been progressively turning more of its resources over to its advanced data center memory business, called HBM, for High Bandwidth Memory.
HBM memory chips tend to be pricier than their consumer counterparts with thicker profit margins. Micron recorded almost $2 billion of revenue for the business in its August quarter.
Still, amid an AI boom, competition is fierce in the category. Joining Micron (which is based in Boise, Idaho) are two South Korean companies: Samsung and SK Hynix.
Shares of Micron fell about 3%, to about $231, on the news.
—AN