Samsung, SK hynix, Micron sued in US over DRAM supply restrictions

Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron face a US lawsuit for allegedly restricting DRAM supply to favor AI-focused HBM, causing price hikes. Experts are skeptical, noting the shift is a public response to high AI demand, not a coordinated scheme.

US Lawsuit Alleges Price Manipulation by Top Chipmakers

A proposed US class-action lawsuit has been filed against the world's three largest memory chipmakers, according to a news report by The Korea Herald. The legal challenge accuses Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron Technology of restricting the supply of dynamic random-access memory, commonly known as DRAM, during their structural shift toward AI-focused hardware.

As per the news report, 17 plaintiffs, consisting of individual consumers and small businesses, filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Northern Dirstrict of California last week. The lawsuit alleges that these three companies, which control roughly 90 per cent of the global DRAM market, deliberately curbed the production of conventional memory products like DDR3 and DDR4 to redirect their manufacturing capacity toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators.

As per the news report, the plaintiffs claim this transition triggered a steep increase in DRAM pricing and drove up the retail cost of consumer electronics.

Experts Skeptical, Cite Market Dynamics

However, market experts and industry officials remained skeptical about the immediate fallout of the lawsuit, noting that the case is still in its infancy. The news report mentioned that the legal challenge faces a high burden of proof because the industry-wide transition toward HBM has been publicly documented for months.

The structural shift is widely recognized as a standard commercial reaction to the explosive global demand for AI infrastructure, rather than a coordinated effort to restrict supply. As per the news report, the complaint itself acknowledges that total DRAM wafer capacity continues to expand globally. Industry projections show that global capacity will continue to rise through 2026, even as a larger share of that production is allocated specifically to HBM manufacturing.

Economic Rationale for HBM Shift

Memory producers maintained that reallocating their production lines toward HBM became unavoidable as AI applications reshaped the broader technology landscape. These high-bandwidth chips generate significantly higher financial returns than legacy conventional DRAM products.

Furthermore, HBM units require substantially more raw wafer capacity to manufacture, naturally tightening the supply of older memory lines. The litigation is also projected to have minimal impact on short-term market pricing. US investment bank Jefferies forecast that DRAM prices will continue their upward trajectory through 2027 because AI-driven demand persistently outpaces overall supply growth, regardless of how the legal proceedings unfold.

Lawsuit Differs From Past Antitrust Cases

"The case also differs from earlier DRAM antitrust cases in the 2000s, which involved explicit allegations of price coordination and output agreements. The current complaint centers instead on whether the industry's publicly announced shift toward HBM indirectly tightened the supply of conventional memory products," the news report said.

Chipmakers Capitalise on Market Upcycle

The legal filing arrives at a time when memory manufacturers are capitalising on one of the strongest market upcycles in recent history. Micron recently reported record quarterly financial results, while South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are both projected to post sharp earnings gains driven by sustained AI demand and elevated memory prices. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)