Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron sued in US over alleged DRAM price fixing

What happened

A 17-plaintiff class action accusing Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron of coordinated DRAM price fixing was filed June 25 and surged into mainstream tech press on June 29.

Context and impact

Memory pricing has become a second-order chokepoint for the AI buildout: HBM is sold out through 2026, spot DDR5 has tripled and DDR4 has nearly disappeared from retail. If discovery confirms coordinated supply restraint, the case could trigger antitrust scrutiny in Korea and Europe and force structural separation of HBM and commodity DRAM lines. It also reframes the AI infrastructure boom as a consumer-cost story.

Details

• Filed June 25, 2026 in the Northern District of California before Judge Noel Wise
• Lists 17 plaintiffs including individuals and small businesses
• Alleges coordination since 2022 leading to a 700% rise in DRAM prices
• Claims the trio coordinated capacity shifts from DDR3/DDR4 to HBM for AI chips
• Samsung and SK Hynix have previously pleaded guilty to DRAM price fixing — SK Hynix paid a $185M fine in 2005