Grove realized Intel’s business model of selling DRAM chips was finished. DRAM prices might recover from the price slump, but Intel would never win back market share. It had been “disrupted” by Japanese producers. Now it would either disrupt itself or fail. Exiting the DRAM market felt impossible. Intel had pioneered memory chips, and admitting defeat would be humiliating. It was like Ford deciding to get out of cars, one employee said.
