Micron Technology
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 1978 in Boise, Idaho, United States |
| Founder | Ward Parkinson, Joe Parkinson, Dennis Wilson, Doug Pitman |
| Headquarters | Boise , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sanjay Mehrotra (President and CEO) |
| Products | DRAM, flash memory, solid-state drives (SSDs) |
| Website | micron |
Micron Technology, Inc. stands as a prominent American manufacturer specializing in computer memory and data storage solutions, such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), flash memory, and solid-state drives (SSDs). The company's headquarters are located in Boise, Idaho, and it markets its consumer and gaming memory products through the Crucial and Ballistix brands.
In partnership with Intel, Micron established IM Flash Technologies to produce NAND flash memory. From 2006 until 2017, it owned the Lexar brand. As the sole U.S.-based memory chip producer, Micron holds a critical strategic role within the semiconductor sector.
1978–1999
Founded in Boise, Idaho, in 1978 by Ward Parkinson, Joe Parkinson, Dennis Wilson, and Doug Pitman, Micron initially operated as a semiconductor design consulting firm. Early investments came from local entrepreneurs and later from Idaho billionaire J. R. Simplot. By 1981, Micron shifted focus to manufacturing with the launch of its first wafer fabrication facility ("Fab 1"), producing 64K DRAM chips.
The company went public in 1984. In 1991, Micron ventured into the RISC processor arena with its FRISC product aimed at embedded control and signal processing markets. Despite favorable technical features, this initiative was discontinued in 1992 due to unmet commercial goals.
In 1994, Joe Parkinson retired as CEO, with Steve Appleton stepping into the roles of Chairman, President, and CEO. A strategic merger in 1996 combined Micron with ZEOS International and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services, broadening its business reach. The following year, Micron acquired NetFrame Systems to enter the mid-range server sector. Between 1998 and 2000, the company enhanced brand awareness by sponsoring the MicronPC Bowl.
Since 2000
During 2000, Gurtej Singh Sandhu and Trung T. Doan at Micron made significant advancements in atomic layer deposition of high-k films for DRAM devices, facilitating cost-effective production of semiconductor memory beginning at the 90 nm node. Sandhu also developed pitch double-patterning technology throughout the 2000s, essential for manufacturing 30-nm class NAND flash memory—a technique widely adopted by NAND and RAM producers worldwide.
In 2002, Micron divested its personal computer division as MPC Corporation due to a modest market share of 1.3%, ranking it as the 12th largest PC manufacturer in the U.S.
The joint venture IM Flash Technologies was created by Micron and Intel in Lehi, Utah in 2005; IM Flash Singapore followed in 2011. By 2012, Micron had acquired full ownership of the Singapore operation. In 2006, it purchased Lexar, a company specializing in digital media products.
Leadership changes occurred in June 2007 when COO Mark Durcan was promoted to president. In 2008, Micron repurposed its Avezzano fabrication plant for CMOS image sensor production on behalf of Aptina Imaging—a company spun off that year and later acquired by ON Semiconductor in 2014—with Micron retaining an ownership stake.
Confronted with industry downturns, Micron reduced its workforce by approximately 15% in 2008 while acquiring Qimonda's 35.6% interest in Inotera Memories for $400 million. Additional layoffs took place in 2009 alongside acquiring Displaytech's FLCOS microdisplay technology. In February 2010, Micron agreed to acquire flash-chip manufacturer Numonyx for $1.27 billion through stock issuance.
On February 3, 2012, CEO Steve Appleton tragically died in an aviation accident; Mark Durcan succeeded him as CEO.
Between 2012 and 2014, Micron engaged in acquisition and restructuring efforts: becoming majority stakeholder in Inotera Memories; purchasing Elpida Memory for $2 billion; acquiring remaining shares of Rexchip for $334 million; while announcing workforce reductions totaling around 3,000 employees. The Elpida acquisition established Micron as a principal supplier of memory components for Apple’s iPhone and iPad products. By December 2016, Micron had attained full ownership of Inotera.
In April 2017, Sanjay Mehrotra was named president and CEO following Mark Durcan’s departure. Later that year, Micron exited the retail removable storage market by selling the Lexar brand to Longsys in August.
In May 2018, Intel and Micron introduced QLC NAND technology to enhance storage density capabilities. That year, Micron ranked number 150 on the Fortune 500 list based on revenue.
February 2019 marked the debut of the world’s first 1TB microSD card by Micron. By March 2020, its Micron 5210 Ion SSD represented the most cost-effective large-capacity storage solution worldwide. Collaborating with Nvidia in September 2020, Micron launched GDDR6X—the fastest discrete graphics memory—integrated into Nvidia’s GeForce RTX GPUs. November of that year saw release of a new 176-layer 3D NAND module featuring improved performance for next-generation solid-state drives.
On October 22, 2021, Texas Instruments acquired IM Flash’s Lehi fabrication plant from Micron for $900 million. Following enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act, Micron committed billions toward expanding domestic manufacturing: announcing $15 billion investment for a new Boise facility in September 2022 and plans up to $100 billion for expansion efforts in Clay, New York announced in October.
Regarding patent disputes, Micron was ordered to pay Netlist $445 million for willful infringement involving high-performance memory module patents. Netlist initiated litigation against Micron in 2022 over three memory-module product lines; Micron denied infringement allegations while challenging patent validity. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invalidated one patent involved in April 2024.
Fujian Jinhua
On December 5, 2017, Micron initiated legal action against United Microelectronics Corporation and Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. (JHICC) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing them of violating its DRAM patents and intellectual property rights. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Fujian Jinhua and placed the company on the Entity List. Fujian Jinhua refuted these accusations, claiming that Micron was attempting to obstruct its progress as a competitive rival.
In May 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China prohibited prominent Chinese infrastructure companies from acquiring Micron products, citing concerns over national security. This action was widely interpreted as a response to U.S. sanctions and export restrictions aimed at China’s semiconductor sector. Subsequently, in November 2023, Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) brought a patent infringement lawsuit against Micron.
On February 27, 2024, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Maxine Chesney in San Francisco dismissed the intellectual property theft allegations against Fujian Jinhua, determining that there was insufficient evidence to uphold Micron’s claims.