Top 10 chip design companies, latest list

According to a report by TrendForce at the time of publication, the third quarter of 2023 was a historic quarter for the world, as the total revenue of leading IC design companies surged 17.8% to a record-breaking US$44.7 billion. This significant growth was driven by a strong inventory season for smartphones and laptops and a rapidly accelerating shipment of generative AI chips and components. NVIDIA is taking advantage of the boom in artificial intelligence to become the top performer in terms of revenue and market share. It is worth noting that analog IC supplier Cirrus Logic surpassed US PMIC manufacturer MPS to take the tenth place, driven by strong demand for smartphone inventory.

Thanks to continued demand for generative AI and LLM, NVIDIA's third-quarter revenue surged 45.7% to $16.5 billion. Its data center business, which accounts for nearly 80% of its revenue, is a key driver of this extraordinary growth.

Qualcomm's third-quarter revenue increased 2.8% quarter-on-quarter to about US$7.4 billion with the release of its new flagship AP Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and new Android smartphones. However, NVIDIA's rapid growth eroded Qualcomm's market share to 16.5%. Broadcom's strategic focus on AI server-related products such as AI ASIC chips, high-end switches and network interface cards, coupled with seasonal wireless product inventories, has successfully offset the impact of weak demand for server storage connections and broadband. This strategic move resulted in revenue growth of 4.4% sequentially to $7.2 billion.

AMD's third-quarter revenue increased 8.2% to $5.8 billion. This success was driven by widespread adoption of fourth-generation EPYC server CPUs by cloud and enterprise customers, as well as the favorable impact of seasonal laptop inventory. MediaTek's third-quarter revenue increased by 8.7% to US$3.5 billion, benefiting from healthy replenishment demand for smartphone APs, WiFi6 and mobile/laptop PMIC components, as well as stable inventory from various brand customers.

Marvell also made significant gains, with third-quarter revenue reaching $1.4 billion, an increase of 4.4% quarter-on-quarter. The growth was largely driven by growing demand for generative artificial intelligence from cloud customers and the expansion of the data center business - despite declines in industries such as enterprise networking and automotive. However, the outlook for some industries remains mixed, with areas such as television and online still facing uncertainty, leading to cautious customers. This resulted in the revenue of some IC design companies such as Novatek and Realtek falling by 7.5% and 1.7% respectively.

Weill Semiconductor benefited from demand for Android smartphone components and got rid of past inventory adjustments, with third-quarter revenue rising 42.3% to $752 million. Cirrus Logic also took advantage of the smartphone parts inventory trend, with revenue rising significantly by 51.7% to $481 million, knocking MPS out of the top ten.

To sum up, TrendForce expects the top ten IC design companies to continue to grow in the fourth quarter. This optimistic outlook is supported by the gradual normalization of inventory levels and a mild seasonal rebound in the smartphone and laptop markets. Additionally, the surge in global LLM numbers extends beyond communications service providers, internet companies, and private enterprises to regional countries and small and medium-sized enterprises, further driving this positive revenue trend.

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