The global semiconductor industry recorded $626 billion in revenue in 2024, an 18.1% increase from the previous year, according to research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. The market is projected to reach $705 billion in 2025.
“The rising demand for AI and generative AI (GenAI) workloads led data centers to become the second-largest market for semiconductors in 2024, behind smartphones,” George Brocklehurst, vice president analyst at Gartner, said in a media release. “Data center semiconductor revenue totaled $112 billion in 2024, up from $64.8 billion in 2023.”
The overall market growth reshaped the ranking of semiconductor vendors, with 11 companies achieving double-digit growth. Only eight of the top 25 vendors saw revenue declines.
Samsung reclaims top spot
Samsung Electronics regained its position as the world’s largest semiconductor vendor, overtaking Intel. The company’s revenue totaled $66.5 billion in 2024, driven by a recovery in memory device prices.
Intel moved to the second spot, with its semiconductor revenue remaining nearly flat at 0.1% growth. The company’s AI PC products and Core Ultra chipset did not generate enough demand to offset challenges in its AI accelerator business and the modest growth of its x86 products.
Nvidia advanced two positions to become the third-largest semiconductor vendor, with an 84% revenue increase in 2024. Its AI business played a key role, pushing its total semiconductor revenue to $46 billion.
Memory market sees strong growth
The memory segment grew by 71.8% in 2024, making up 25.2% of total semiconductor sales. DRAM revenue increased by 75.4%, while NAND revenue grew by 75.7%. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) played a key role in DRAM growth, contributing 13.6% of total DRAM revenue in 2024.
“Memory and AI semiconductors will drive near-term growth, with HBM projected to account for an increasing share of DRAM revenue, reaching 19.2% in 2025,” said Brocklehurst. “HBM revenue is estimated to increase 66.3% in 2025, reaching $19.8 billion.”
Nonmemory revenue grew by 6.9% in 2024, representing 74.8% of the total semiconductor market.