Micron Exits Consumer SSD and RAM Market as Crucial Products Are Discontinued in Companywide Shift Toward AI Memory Demand

Micron has officially confirmed that it will exit the Crucial consumer business, marking a major turning point for the memory industry and signaling the overwhelming pressure created by the artificial intelligence sector. The announcement arrives through Micron’s official press release, where the company outlines its full transition away from consumer SSDs and DRAM to refocus production capacity on more profitable enterprise and AI customers.

According to the statement, Micron will continue to ship Crucial branded consumer products through the end of fiscal quarter two in February 2026. After this transition period, the company will no longer manufacture or distribute Crucial memory or storage products through global retail, e tail or distribution channels. Warranty coverage and support will continue, but the product line itself is being phased out completely. Micron will maintain its enterprise lineup under the Micron brand for commercial customers.

The company explained that demand for memory and storage has surged dramatically in the data center segment due to artificial intelligence growth. This trend has forced major DRAM suppliers to prioritize AI customers, many of whom are willing to pay significant premiums to secure memory allocations. Micron cites these dynamics as the primary reason for ending its nearly three decade long presence in the consumer SSD and DRAM market.

Sumit Sadana, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer at Micron Technology, addressed the decision in the announcement;

“The AI driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster growing segments.

Thanks to a passionate community of consumers, the Crucial brand has become synonymous with technical leadership, quality and reliability of leading edge memory and storage products. We would like to thank our millions of customers, hundreds of partners and all of the Micron team members who have supported the Crucial journey for the last twenty nine years.”

Micron describes the exit as part of a portfolio transformation focused on long term profitability. The company plans to reallocate production capacity toward enterprise, hyperscale and artificial intelligence customers, aligning its strategy with segments experiencing strong secular growth. Micron stated that it intends to minimize the impact on employees by redeploying team members into open roles across the company.

Industry analysts have been anticipating this moment for months, especially as DRAM shortages worsen and technology giants increasingly dominate purchase orders for high bandwidth memory, LPDDR solutions and specialized data center components. Cloud service providers and artificial intelligence companies continue to pay above typical contract pricing to secure DRAM supply. As a result, suppliers including Micron, Samsung and SK hynix have been shifting production strategies toward long term, high margin opportunities rather than balancing consumer and enterprise demand.

From a gamer and consumer perspective, the news is disappointing. Crucial was widely recognized as one of the best value propositions in the SSD and DRAM market, delivering reliable performance without premium pricing. With the exit of Crucial from the consumer space and similar strategic moves from other memory manufacturers, retail prices for DRAM and storage products may become less stable. The shift also reflects a broader industry transition, where consumer technology takes a back seat to artificial intelligence development and hyperscale infrastructure.

This moment highlights the unprecedented intensity of global memory demand driven by artificial intelligence models and data center expansion. By reallocating all DRAM capacity toward AI customers by next year, Micron is positioning itself to maximize profitability in a rapidly changing semiconductor market.

How do you feel about Micron leaving the consumer memory market, and do you think other major suppliers may follow the same path as AI demand continues to rise