The global semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market was valued at US$ 4,111.0 Million in 2019 and is expected to surpass US$ 7,103.0 Million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period (2020-2027), published by Coherent Market Insights.
The automotive sector is focusing on continuous innovation and semiconductor intellectual property will continue to play a major role in the advancement of this industry. As the automotive industry continues to develop self-driving technology, automotive electronics are expected to play an integral role in enabling these capabilities. The safety features in today’s automotive SoCs (systems-on-chip) requiressemiconductor IPs. The growth of semiconductor intellectual property in theautomotive industry is due to the increasing application of microcontrollerunits (MCUs), microprocessor units (MPUs), sensors, interfaces, analogue integrated circuits (ICs), and memory products in autonomous and premium cars. All major vehicle manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Renault, and Tata Motors are focusing on providing safety components in a vehicle such as high-tech sensors, cameras, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and other parts that mitigate accidents. Therefore, with the launch of modern cars equipped with various features and more to come in driverless cars, semiconductor intellectual property will play a major role in facilitating further innovation.
The growing adoption of the modern system on chip (SOC) designs is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.
Semiconductor IP cores are combined with the system-on-chip (SoCs) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASICs) products. Such products are then used for the production of chips, which are then installed in automobiles, MP3 players, televisions, smartphones, and others. In addition, there is a rise in the demand for smart and power-efficient devices, which propels the demand for the SoCs. This, in turn, is projected to drive the growth of the semiconductor IP market. For instance, in June 2020, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. launched its new product ‘Snapdragon 690 System-on-chip,’ to support its Snapdragon 6-series processors. The Snapdragon 690 is specifically designed for 5G connectivity and supports both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes.
Semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) Market – Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic
COVID-19 has significantly disrupted almost all the industries including, infrastructure, automotive, manufacturing, and others. To combat COVID-19 pandemic, most of the countries have implementedlockdowns and are now easing it phase-wise and industry wise. This has significantly impacted manufacturing sector as the facilities across the globe were temporarily shut down. Slowdown in production by automotive OEMs due to COVID-19 crisis has resulted in demand variation for semiconductor chips. Furthermore, demand for PC/server, wired communication, and consumer products has dropped. Thus, consequently impacting the semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market growth. However, demand for wireless communication hasincreased. Accelerated demand for cloud infrastructure to support distributed workforce will have positive impact on the global semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market in the long term.
Key Trends and Analysis of the Global Semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) Market:
- Asia-Pacific held dominant position in the global semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market in 2019 and is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to increasing per capita income and disposable income of consumers in China and India For instance, according to the World Bank data published in 2020, China registered a per capita income of US$ 10,261.6 in 2019 from US$ 8,879.4 in 2017. This significant increase in the per capita income resulted into enhanced demand for consumer electronic items such as smart phones and tablets.
- North America is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period, owing to high presence of fabless companies in the North America. North America has about over 500 fabless firms including large enterprises such as Intel Corporation and Qualcomm Inc., according to CMI’s study. In addition to this, key vendors in this region are focusing on strategic acquisitions to enhance their customer base. For instance, in August 2019, Rambus Incorporated acquired Northwest Logic Inc., a U.S.-based supplier of memory products, PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), and MIPI (mobile industry processor interface) digital controllers.
- Among design IP, the processor IP segment held a dominant position in the market in 2019 and is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period. This is owing to the increasing demand of consumer electronic items, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and in infotainment system in automobiles. Moreover, the increasing demand for advanced semiconductor processors in smart-phones, tablets, and laptops is also expected to propel the growth of processor IP segment.
- Major players operating in the global semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market include Arm Holdings, Synopsys, Inc., Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Imagination Technologies Limited, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, CEVA, Inc., Rambus Incorporated, Silvaco Inc., Intel Corporation, eMemory Technology Inc., Dream Chip Technologies GmbH (Goodix Technology Co. Ltd.), VeriSilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Achronix Semiconductor Corporation, Open-Silicon, Inc., Dolphin Design SAS, Faraday Technology Corporation, Xilinx, Inc., Mentor, a Siemens Business, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), Cobham Gaisler AB, Arasan Chip Systems Inc., HDL Design House, Mixel Inc., and TDK Corporation (InvenSense).