Thread

1. ocd · 1790861971 · focus · HN ↗

   I'm not a business guy, but I think I would be very worried if I created any opening (even on the very long term) for competition to justify itself being built up to meet demand (or national security requirements of other countries) on an industry I mostly control, because I prioritized extremely high prices for a few years that might have the effect of changing the arithmetic for potential competitors that wouldn't have done it before.

   It makes me consider whether there would be retaliation in later years against the US intellectual property system in countries other than China. While RAM is a tangible product, the areas it serves aren't really.

   1. malfist · 1790862887 · focus · HN ↗

      The argument I've seen about why someone else doesn't start selling RAM is it takes a year or two to ramp production. But here's a CEO saying he's going to make sure prices stay high enough, long enough that you can spin up a competitor

      1. tzs · 1790867306 · focus · HN ↗

         > But here's a CEO saying he's going to make sure prices stay high enough, long enough that you can spin up a competitor

         Where does he say he's going to make sure prices stay high?

         1. zehaeva · 1790867666 · focus · HN ↗

            Not to be snarky, but the CEO is saying that the supply will be tight for years. I know Econ 101 is over simplified but I do recall that when you reduce supply and demand stays constant, or increases, the price goes up.

            1. mcv · 1790868860 · focus · HN ↗

               Exactly. Demand won't be going down for quite some time, so prices will stay high unless supply goes up. So where is the new competition entering the market?

               If there's no competition entering the market, wouldn't that be a clear sign that this is not a free market but effectively a cartel?

               1. tzs · 1790871012 · focus · HN ↗

                  It takes 3-5 years to build a new fab for current generation DRAM.

                  1. mcv · 1790893047 · focus · HN ↗

                     Better to get started then, instead of remaining dependent on a cartel that is now learning that people will pay anything.

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