SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) -A U.S. antitrust class action accusing Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of South Korea and U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology who dominate the global random memory market of conspiring to restrict conventional memory supplies has emerged as soaring AI-driven DRAM prices ripple through the consumer electronics industry, forcing manufacturers to raise prices for smartphones, PCs and gaming devices.
The proposed class action, filed June 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges the world's three dominant DRAM manufacturers coordinated their transition away from conventional DDR3 and DDR4 memory toward higher-margin high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence servers, artificially tightening supply and inflating prices for mainstream memory products.
The companies had not publicly commented on the allegations as of Tuesday.
The lawsuit arrives at a time when the memory industry is enjoying one of its strongest profit cycles on record as AI infrastructure investment reshapes the semiconductor market.
While chipmakers and industry analysts have largely attributed the supply shortage to unprecedented demand from hyperscale AI data centers and the lengthy transition to advanced manufacturing processes, the plaintiffs argue the three companies coordinated production decisions in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
Micron acknowledged a structural shift in its business model during its quarterly earnings release.
The U.S. memory maker said it has increasingly prioritized long-term Strategic Customer Agreements (SCAs) with hyperscale AI customers to improve earnings visibility, revealing that it has signed 16 such agreements representing about $22 billion in customer commitments.
Micron said the agreements would "significantly enhance the durability and predictability" of its financial performance, underscoring how AI infrastructure customers have become the industry's primary allocation priority.
According to the complaint, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron collectively reduced output of commodity DRAM while allocating more production capacity to HBM products, whose profit margins have surged as companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta race to expand AI infrastructure.
The plaintiffs contend that conventional DRAM prices rose despite conditions that would normally encourage manufacturers to increase production and compete for market share.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of consumers and businesses that purchased products containing DRAM memory since 2022, requesting treble damages and a court order prohibiting the alleged supply restrictions. Named plaintiffs include individual consumers as well as small computer retailers and system builders.
The litigation coincides with mounting cost pressures across the global electronics supply chain.
Apple, Microsoft and other hardware makers have either raised prices or warned of higher manufacturing costs as memory prices continue climbing.
Industry consultants expect DRAM prices to rise by as much as 50 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, followed by another 30 to 40 percent increase in the fourth quarter as AI demand continues to absorb available production capacity.
Analysts have said the current shortage reflects structural constraints rather than a temporary supply disruption.
Although HBM itself accounts for only a portion of total memory production, manufacturers have increasingly converted fabrication lines to AI-oriented products while advanced packaging capacity has become another critical bottleneck, reducing the availability of conventional DRAM used in personal computers, smartphones and consumer electronics.
The complaint also revisits the industry's antitrust history.
Samsung and SK hynix pleaded guilty in the mid-2000s to U.S. criminal charges related to DRAM price-fixing during an earlier market cycle and paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, while Micron avoided prosecution after cooperating with investigators. The plaintiffs argue the current allegations represent another episode of coordinated conduct in the highly concentrated global DRAM market, although the present lawsuit concerns separate allegations covering the AI era.
Samsung, SK hynix and Micron together account for virtually the entire global DRAM market, with their dominance becoming even more pronounced in HBM, the memory technology powering AI accelerators from companies such as Nvidia. Their record earnings have propelled semiconductor shares to historic highs, particularly in South Korea, where AI-related chip exports have become the principal driver of the country's stock market rally.
The lawsuit comes as the memory industry is doubling down on investment rather than signaling an easing of supply constraints.
On Monday, Samsung Electronics unveiled a multi-trillion-won capital expenditure plan to expand advanced memory production, while SK hynix announced additional investment to boost AI memory capacity.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said the supply-demand imbalance is likely to persist as the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence continues to drive unprecedented demand for memory chips, describing memory as the "fuel" powering the AI era. The announcements underscored the industry's expectation that supply constraints will remain a defining feature of the market even as manufacturers accelerate capacity expansion.
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