Micron

Founded October in Boise, Idaho by Joe and Ward Parkinson, Doug Pitman and Dennis Wilson, initially as a four-person semiconductor design consultancy in a basement before pivoting to DRAM manufacturing.

Built first wafer fab in Boise, Idaho funded by potato magnate J.R. Simplot; introduced Micron 16Kb DRAM, the smallest die area of any 16Kb DRAM at the time.

IPO on the NYSE; proceeds funded expansion of Boise Fab 2 and the company's transition from a four-person consultancy to a full DRAM manufacturer.

Filed antidumping petition against Japanese DRAM makers; resulting US-Japan Semiconductor Trade Agreement of 1986 saved the US DRAM industry from collapse.

Spun out Micron Electronics PC business as a separate public company; refocused parent on memory, the strategic decision that preserved Micron through DRAM cycles.

Acquired Lexar Media for M, gaining flash card brand and consumer NAND distribution; held Lexar through 2017 before selling to China-based Longsys.

Formed IM Flash Technologies JV with Intel to manufacture NAND in Lehi, Utah and 3D XPoint memory; ran for 13 years before Micron bought out Intel in 2018.

Closed .5B acquisition of bankrupt Elpida Memory July 31, gaining Hiroshima 300mm DRAM fab and 24% Rexchip Taiwan stake; vaulted into top-3 DRAM makers behind Samsung and SK Hynix.

Tsinghua Unigroup made B unsolicited bid for Micron, the largest-ever Chinese bid for a US tech company; rejected by Micron and ultimately blocked under CFIUS scrutiny.

Bought Intel out of IM Flash NAND JV for .5B; Intel exited NAND, leaving Micron and Samsung as the dominant non-Asian NAND players.

US DOJ indicted China-based Fujian Jinhua and Taiwan-based UMC for stealing Micron DRAM trade secrets; landmark case against Chinese semiconductor IP theft.

Began ramping 1Y nm DRAM, Micron’s first node to lead Samsung in density per cell; foundation of HBM3e leadership three years later.

Announced B Clay, NY mega-fab over 20 years, the largest semi project in US history; first phase B targets HBM/DRAM production starting 2026-27.

China's Cyberspace Administration banned Micron from key infrastructure projects after a cybersecurity review, hitting ~10% of revenue; first major retaliation against US chip controls under Xi Jinping.

Began HBM3e mass production for NVIDIA H200 with 24GB 8-high stacks, leapfrogging into HBM leadership tier; first US-based HBM supplier and Micron's largest single revenue catalyst since 2018.

Awarded preliminary $6.1B CHIPS Act funding for Clay, NY mega-fab and Boise, ID expansion of HBM/DRAM capacity; total Micron US commitment ~$125B over the decade.

Finalized $6.165B CHIPS Act funding December 10 for Clay, NY HBM mega-fab and Boise expansion; first US-based HBM/DRAM mega-fabs in 25 years.

December 2 BIS update barred HBM3/3e exports to China, formalizing the cutoff already in effect from China's Micron ban; minimal incremental revenue impact for Micron specifically.

Began 12-stack HBM3e mass production at 36GB, securing additional NVIDIA H200/B300 supply allocations; HBM share grew to ~22% from <5% in 2023.

Sampled HBM4 to NVIDIA and AMD, targeting Rubin and MI400 ramps in calendar 2026; projected ~18% HBM4 share, up from 22% HBM3e share in 2025.