Micron is pulling the plug on Crucial, a stable and dependable name in memory and stays with SSDs that has kept a lot of PCs running smoothly for over 20 years. In their most recent press release, Micron said categorically that they want to close the consumer side of the business by the end of their second quarter next year. Existing stock will continue to ship until then, and everyone who purchases their products before the deadline will still be covered by their guarantee.
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Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron’s CEO, made it sound like an easy decision. He mentioned that the need for high-performance memory in AI and data centers is skyrocketing, and that these are the only industries where they can generate a consistent profit. Micron is now preparing to pour some substantial resources into high-bandwidth memory, generally known as HBM, the technology that powers those gigantic servers churning out machine learning tasks at speed. All of this means that no new Crucial-branded RAM kits or SSDs will be manufactured; instead, the manufacturing lines will be relocated to match the order books of the major cloud providers and chip manufacturers that require speed.
Crucial has been in the game since 1996, and over the years, it developed a reputation for being the go-to spot for good value, whether it was those fast T700 SSDs that gamers snatched up for their amazing read speeds or the inexpensive memory bundles that made it possible for anyone to set up a twin channel setup. For dedicated fans, it remains a name synonymous with no-nonsense dependability, the sort that allows you to go a little harder without breaking the budget. However, their leave has left a massive hole, and PC builders will have to scramble for new memory and other components from rivals such as Corsair, Kingston, and WD Black.
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AI’s ravenous desire for DRAM has already drove costs up across the board; large orders from OpenAI to SK Hynix and Samsung are depleting supplies, leaving the rest of us scrambling for what remains. Companies like as CyberPowerPC are reporting delays with custom orders, while Framework and Raspberry Pi are having to reduce RAM in their kits. Then there’s HP, which has increased the price of some laptops by up to 20% to compensate for the shortage. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any tougher, Micron’s decision to exit the consumer market is pushing regular consumers toward more expensive options, just as holiday shopping is getting underway. One analyst described it as “a deliberate gamble on the future,” but for enthusiasts looking to undertake a winter refresh, it feels like a slap in the face.
The key gamble Micron is taking is that AI will continue to grow, and this industry is expected to consume 40% of all DRAM by 2027. The startup is hoping to collaborate with major hyperscalers such as Microsoft and Google, who require large quantities of rapid memory to train their massive models, which dwarf the chatbots we use today. Production is increasing at its sites in Idaho and Singapore, and new factories are being created in order to compete for a $10 billion market share. Mehrotra promises that this approach will result in “sustainable growth,” and with recent earnings showing data center revenue rising 50% year on year, the bottom line is clearly looking good. But for the DIY crowd, it’s just business as usual; a familiar buddy is being left behind.
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