Linus Tech Tips visits Micron — Crucial BTS

When Linus walked through the hallways of Micron Technology’s main campus in Boise a few weeks ago, he got a lot of double takes. Probably not surprising in a worksite the size of Disneyland that’s filled with thousands of men and women who live and breathe memory and storage tech, but the buzz was still noticeable.

“Hey! Was that…?”

Linus? The super popular host of Linus Tech Tips, a YouTube channel with 15 million followers, and the most well-respected tech influencer on the planet?

Yes, it was.

And while Linus was friendly to everyone he met, he was clearly most excited about the technology he was “meeting” for the first time as Micron threw open some doors that have always stayed shut in the past. 

You can catch the video here of his visit: a fast-paced tour of the largest R&D facility for memory and storage in the western hemisphere. Linus was thrilled with the level of access Micron granted him – and with more than 1.3 million views and more than 4k comments to date, it seems his fans are impressed too.

From the production of silicon wafers in Micron’s fab, through the prep of uncut panels of DDR5 PCBs in the R&D lab, to the final building, testing and validation of his very own special LTT Crucial memory modules, Linus’ tour of Micron was that perfect blend of fun and high-tech education that he’s known for. He even managed to seamlessly weave in a few potato jokes (and didn’t drop anything onsite!)

One thing you might not know even after watching hundreds of hours of Linus Tech Tips videos: Linus walks fast. Moving from lab to lab with a small group of Micron employees in his wake, Linus had immeasurable energy as he made his way through the maze of hallways, walkways and skywalks that crisscross the Micron campus.

But once we reached each lab, his attention was focused on the task at hand. He listened to Micron engineers, asked all the right questions (even asked to be corrected if he ever misspoke on camera – I didn’t catch any “egregious errors,” as Linus put it), and was beyond excited about every second of the process.

And when things didn’t go to plan? Linus loved it. Not surprisingly, he used those moments as an opportunity to teach about the failures that are a necessary part of the overall success story of memory and storage technology.

From Linus’ tour video, you can see the scope of his onscreen personality – from seriously silly to remarkably serious, Linus seems to always know the perfect tone to explain the “black magic” of semiconductor technology in a way that’s not just easier to understand, but exciting to consider.

Linus’ enthusiasm as he talked tech with Micron engineers was contagious. Shifting seamlessly between his roles as on-screen talent and producer/director, he was always on task while being courteous and personable with the engineers. Linus in person was just as he is on film: a fun-loving professional who’s passionate about making the technology he loves easy for viewers to understand.

But my favorite part of the tour was something you won’t see on Linus’s final video. It happened early in the day when Scott Gatzemeier, a Micron VP, brought his daughter to meet Linus.

Scott had spent the summer helping her build her own gaming computer. Like any good dad, he made a deal with her: he’d pay for half of the build (with Micron RAM and SSDs, of course!) if she wrote him a paper about all the components and how they worked. For her research and great build advice, she had turned to Linus videos and become a big fan.

Linus spent a long time talking to her about her new rig, and then engaged in a deeply technical conversation with Scott that went over most of our heads. After posing for a quick picture, Linus told Scott’s daughter: “Your dad is way cooler than you think!”

Seeing Linus inspire a STEM-loving seventh grader one-on-one was a full-circle moment. He started Linus Tech Tips with not much more than a passion for technology and an ability to make it accessible to people just like her so that they can use it to make a meaningful difference in their lives. It’s fun to imagine what that young lady might do with that inspiration and new set of skills in this amazing industry a few years down the road.