The three companies that collectively manufacture roughly 90% of the world’s DRAM chips are now defendants in a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging they worked together to jack up prices by approximately 700% over four years. If that number sounds absurd, consider that these same companies have been caught doing essentially the same thing before.
The lawsuit, filed June 25 in the Northern District of California, names Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology as defendants. Seventeen plaintiffs, a mix of individuals and small PC assembly and distribution businesses, brought the case under the caption Garciaguirre et al v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al.
What the lawsuit actually claims
The core allegation is straightforward: the three dominant DRAM manufacturers colluded to restrict supply of commodity DRAM, specifically DDR3 and DDR4 memory, while conveniently pivoting their production narratives toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI applications.
The plaintiffs claim this coordinated supply restriction began around 2022 and resulted in that eye-popping 700% price increase. The complaint alleges violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the foundational US law against anti-competitive business practices that has been around since 1890.
