Global memory semiconductor sales this year are projected to surge 280% compared to last year.
Market research firm Gartner forecasts that worldwide semiconductor revenue this year will exceed 1.55 trillion dollars, or over 2 quadrillion won, representing a 92% increase from 809 billion dollars last year.
Furthermore, revenue is expected to surpass 1.93 trillion dollars next year.
The growth projection for memory chips is even larger. Gartner estimates that memory semiconductor sales will reach 830 billion dollars this year, which is about a 280% increase from 220 billion dollars last year.
The share of memory in total semiconductor sales is also expected to rise from 27% last year to 54% this year, accounting for more than half of the total.
"The semiconductor industry is entering a new growth phase," explained Ben Lee, managing analyst at Gartner. "Driven by sustained AI infrastructure investment and stronger-than-expected memory pricing, the industry is growing rapidly."
This trend serves as positive news for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Both companies manufacture High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) alongside legacy DRAM and NAND, and they are benefiting from rising demand for high-value-added AI memory as well as strong prices for general-purpose DRAM and NAND.
Gartner predicts that even when additional production capacity comes online next year, supply and demand will remain tight as memory consumption for AI infrastructure building continues to grow.
As more AI data centers are built, demand is increasing not only for memory but also for other products like CPUs and analog components. "AI is not just benefiting specific product categories, but expanding opportunities for the semiconductor market across the entire infrastructure," analyst Ben Lee said.
Reported by Kim Taewon | Video and Design by Yang Haemin | Produced by SBS Digital News
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