Micron Technology, a leading global memory and storage solutions company, announced it will exit the consumer memory business by February 2026, ending nearly 30 years of selling Crucial-branded RAM and SSDs to consumers. This decision comes amid soaring demand for memory chips driven by the rapid growth of AI data centers and enterprise applications. According to Micron’s Executive Vice President Sumit Sadana, the company is shifting its focus to supply strategic customers in faster-growing markets, such as AI and enterprise data centers, where demand is outstripping supply.
Micron will continue consumer shipments for the Crucial brand until the end of fiscal Q2 in February 2026 but will no longer sell these products at retailers, e-tailers, or distributors worldwide afterward. This pivot reflects a strategic portfolio transformation to prioritize more profitable sectors, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI computing infrastructure. The move significantly impacts PC builders, gamers, and small business customers who have relied on Crucial’s reliable and technical memory products for decades.
Experts warn that Micron’s withdrawal will likely exacerbate current memory shortages for consumer markets, potentially driving prices up for RAM and SSDs throughout 2026. With Micron controlling about 20% of global DRAM production capacity, their exit leaves fewer suppliers serving the consumer market. Coupled with industry trends where Samsung and SK Hynix are also reducing consumer-grade chip production, the consumer memory landscape faces tightening supplies, higher costs, and reduced availability.
Micron expressed gratitude to its millions of customers and partners who have supported the Crucial brand over 29 years, underscoring the company’s commitment to focusing on growth areas in memory and storage aligned with advancing AI technology. Industry watchers will be closely monitoring how this shift influences market dynamics and the availability of consumer memory products in the coming years.
