Major Tech Companies Are Being Sued For Manipulating The RAM Market

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron—three major chip manufacturers—are named in a class action lawsuit accusing the trio of price fixing and market manipulation.

Garciaguirre et al. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al. was filed on June 25 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs are represented by Bathaee Dunne LLP, a firm that specialises in tech-focused lawsuits (Law360, via Rock Paper Shotgun).

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Face Class Action Lawsuit

"The DRAM oligopolists have simultaneously cut production, coordinated a pivot to HBM and exit from DDR3 and DDR4, and otherwise decreased and locked up conventional DRAM supply while prices charged up with mind-blowing scale and rapidity," reads the suit. "Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron continue to squeeze conventional DRAM supply, simultaneously and publicly directing their resources towards less profitable-per-die HBM - or in some cases, simply junking conventional DRAM supply channels altogether."

The suit essentially alleges that any normal company would take advantage of a market where prices were rapidly rising, forcing their competitors to meet them on the commercial battlefield, as it were. Instead, the suit alleges the trio have coordinated to simultaneously exit the market, causing prices to skyrocket as supply dwindles.

Valve Claims RAM Companies Threaten To Cut Off Supply If It Doesn't Agree To Prices

Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffas revealed that suppliers "never talk to [them] again" if they refuse the asking price.

The suit continues by saying the trio are aware competitors can't enter the DRAM market because the cost and knowledge required are too steep for newcomers to overcome. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron make decisions based on the unofficial market protection they collectively enjoy.

The astronomical price of memory has greatly affected the gaming industry, as production costs for console manufacturers continue to balloon. We've seen a steady increase in the price of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2, while the newly announced Steam Machine begins at an eye-watering $1049.

The result of these types of corporate lawsuits is usually a settlement, so I wouldn't pin my hopes of memory prices dropping on litigation. Lenovo made headlines over the weekend for predicting that memory prices will never be as low as they were before the advent of artificial intelligence — a rather sobering thought.

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