A global memory shortage is pushing computer components, and, subsequently, consumer electronics, to extraordinary prices. All major video game console makers have increased prices—some as many as three times—as the cost of putting together these devices keeps rising. The shortage of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is often tied to how much memory the data centers that power artificial intelligence need. Now, a group of consumers are suing the big three chip makers—Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix—for what they call a "coordinated scheme" to raise the price of hardware. More so, these companies have been sued under similar price fixing allegations multiple times in the past. One of those lawsuits failed, but the earlier of the two led to hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, and several executives in jail.
The proposed class action lawsuit, reported first by Law360, was filed on June 25 in the United States District Court's Northern District of California for alleged violations of the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Minnesota Antrust Law, the Wisconsin Antitrust Act, and the New York Donnelly Act. All of this legislation is designed to prevent monopolization and anticompetitive business strategies.
Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix make up 91% of DRAM revenue, per the complaint. Lawyers allege that these three companies are price fixing "through a series of parallel actions that, taken together, constitute a comprehensive program of supply management by agreement."
The scheme, they say, is a supply restriction that began in 2022. All three companies cut production in 2022 and 2023 when demand dropped; the companies wanted to decrease inventory. In 2023, the companies shifted resources from DRAM to high bandwidth memory (HBM), used to support AI. The availability of "commodity DRAM" for consumer electronics, in response, was reduced.
The complaint also alleges that Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix also stopped producing DDR3 and limited DDR4, which is a type of RAM that's older and therefore used for cheaper, entry-level computers. Prices rose in response. It's coordinated, lawyers say, because all of these companies did this in the same time frame.
"TrendForce further forecast that data centers will consume approximately 70% of all memory chips produced in 2026, creating supply shortfalls that will spread to consumer, smartphone, automotive, and other segments," lawyers write in the complaint. "The remaining 30% of global memory output must serve billions of devices and hundreds of millions of users worldwide—a structural deficit that guarantees supracompetitive pricing for the foreseeable future."
Lawyers pointed out that these three companies (or its predecessors and subsidiaries), which the government called cartels, were found guilty of price fixing in the early 2000s. That shortage was often linked to "a surge in demand for wireless phones and handheld computers," according to the New York Times. The chip shortage impacted technology companies, but also toymakers like Mattel, who made talking dolls.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix pled guilty; Samsung paid a $300 million fine. Several Samsung executives were also found guilty and served prison sentences. SK Hynix paid a $185 million fine. Some executives served jail time, too. Micron avoided fines and jail time by "reporting the cartel and cooperating with the Department of Justice," according to the complaint. Infineon Technologies and Elpida Memory were the other two companies charged. The European Commission also fined the companies in 2010.
Another class action lawsuit was filed against Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix in 2018 for alleged price fixing from 2016 to 2017. At that time, the companies controlled 96% of the market. The judge awarded in favor of the three companies, a decision that was reinforced by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2022. The judge said in the decision that the claims were conceivable, but that the plaintiffs did not "allege additional facts that push their theory over 'the line between possibility and plausibility.'" The judge said that the companies stockpiled DRAM leading into 2016, then had too much as DRAM prices declined. They all cut production in response. Demand increased, creating the shortage.
In 2025, Micron announced its exit from the consumer market entirely. The shortage is expected to last for several more years, according to SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won. It's touching all sorts of industries; anything that needs memory. A Microsoft Series X console now costs $800, up from its launch price of $500. Both Sony and Nintendo have raised their prices, as has Apple, which increased MacBook and iPad prices up to 20%.
"The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge,” an Apple representative said in a statement to press. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.
Valve's new Steam Machine will launch at a price over $1,000, thanks to the shortage. A Valve employee told Gamers Nexus in June that the DRAM producers give Valve a price and it must take it or leave it.
"It's yes or no," the Valve employee said. "And if we say no, then they never talk to us again."
The next major step for the current lawsuit is for the plaintiffs to argue for class action status. A judge must first certify a class of consumers before moving forward.
