The popularity of artificial intelligence may have further increased the price of consumer electronics across the industry.
After receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, technology company Micron will shut down its general-purpose line of consumer chip products and instead focus solely on its giant corporate AI customers. The move is expected to significantly limit market competition and raise prices for materials essential to computers, game consoles and other electronic devices.
Earlier this month, Micron announced The Crucial product line, which includes memory storage units such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and solid state drives (SSD), will be discontinued.
Micron is just one of three global technology companies that control the majority of DRAM and SSD production. Micron's withdrawal will effectively consolidate the market into a duopoly between South Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung.
Exiting could reduce competition and give remaining companies more market power, allowing them to raise prices for consumers. DRAM product prices are rising even before recent moves jumped 170 times Percentage over the past year.
micron say it's over The consumer market will be pouring resources into building burgeoning data centers and artificial intelligence powered by semiconductors made by a small conglomeration of giant technology companies, including Micron. Micron is one of the major suppliers of semiconductor circuit boards to Nvidia, a leading chip design company.
“AI-driven growth in data centers is causing demand for memory and storage to skyrocket. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial Consumer business to better serve and support our large and strategic customers in this rapidly growing segment,” the publication said. announcement. According to critics, Micron chase Increased profit margins from deep-pocketed AI customers willing to pay big bucks at the expense of the general public.
Demand for AI chips is proving so lucrative that it's locking up all supplies and resources for a small global cartel of semiconductor manufacturers, according to Consumer Watch's Stephen Burke. gamers nexus in Recent videos.
“People are devastated because they can't buy basically anything, and this is all about communicating that.” [taxpayer] We send money to the manufacturers’ own large corporate customers who pray to the gods of AI,” Burke said.
While most consumers rely on products using DRAM and SSD chips, AI companies will have preferential access to a large portion of the supply from electronics manufacturers.
Micron did not respond to a request for comment.
Micron's stock price rose significantly 180 percent Since the beginning of this year, the company doesn't appear to be cash-strapped, thanks in part to the billions in subsidies it has received from taxpayers.
The company received an award $6.1 billion Last year, it received a preliminary federal award to build a U.S.-based semiconductor facility under the CHIPS Act.
Micron is located in upstate New York alone. $22.6 billion Planned tax breaks from federal, state and local governments to build a chip manufacturing complex north of Syracuse. this amount increased After the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act increased subsidies for U.S. semiconductor factory developers from 25 percent to 35 percent.
