Micron shuts down Crucial consumer line to focus on AI memory

Micron has abruptly announced that it is shutting down its storied consumer brand Crucial after nearly three decades. The company is winding down its consumer lines of memory modules and SSDs to redirect manufacturing entirely toward customers in artificial intelligence. For gamers, PC builders, and anyone who relied on dependable, affordable memory, the news lands like a gut punch.

On the market since 1996, Crucial long competed with Samsung, SK Hynix, Corsair, and other heavyweights. But with demand for AI-focused memory surging, Micron is pivoting to enterprise clients that require massive volumes of DRAM and storage. The company frames the move as a way to strengthen its position in the most profitable categories and improve long-term efficiency. The timing underscores how forcefully AI is redrawing priorities across the supply chain.

Sumit Sadana, Micron’s executive vice president, said the AI-fueled expansion of data centers has driven a sharp increase in demand for memory and storage. He noted that Micron made the difficult choice to exit the Crucial consumer business to improve deliveries and support for its large strategic customers in fast-growing segments.

Consumers will be able to buy Crucial products only through the end of Micron’s second fiscal quarter, that is, until February 2026. Starting in March, the brand will effectively disappear from retail. The company pledges to honor all warranties and maintain support, and plans to reassign Crucial employees across other parts of the business.

For the PC market, the loss is significant: the disappearance of a major label will narrow choice and likely nudge prices higher. DRAM is already becoming more expensive as AI companies buy in bulk. Under that pressure, the availability of RAM and SSDs for everyday users keeps slipping—and with Crucial bowing out, relief seems unlikely.