Samsung overtakes Intel to become the leader in chip production in 2024
7 February 14:07
Global revenue from semiconductor production in 2024 amounted to $626 billion, which is 18.1% more than in 2023. In 2025, revenue is projected to reach $705 billion. This is stated in a report by the American consulting company Gartner, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to experts, the positive performance of the overall market affected the rating of several semiconductor suppliers. Eleven suppliers experienced double-digit growth, and only 8 of the top 25 semiconductor suppliers reported a decline in revenue in 2024.
Samsung Electronics regained the top spot and increased its lead over Intel in 2024 due to a strong jump in memory device prices. Samsung Electronics’ revenue in 2024 amounted to $66.5 billion.
Intel moved to second place as its product mix – AI computers and the Core Ultra chipset – was not enough to offset the limited success of its AI accelerator offering and moderate growth in its x86 business.
Nvidia continues to perform extremely well, increasing its semiconductor revenue by 84% in 2024 to USD 46 billion. The company moved up two spots to third place thanks to the strength of its AI business.
What about Ukrainian chips?
DOU reminds that in December 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation presented a strategy for the digital development of innovations, and one of its points was the construction of a chip manufacturing plant by 2030. on January 14, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved this strategy.
Semiconductor technologies are essential for many innovative solutions, such as artificial intelligence, data centers, mobile devices, and the Internet of Things. Microchips are especially important for the defense industry. In particular, for the production of drones, electronic warfare systems, etc.
As Yevhen Syvachenko, technical director of Oko Kamera, emphasized in a comment to DOU, creating one’s own semiconductor production is an element of independence.
“Microchips can be commercial, dual-purpose or for use in missiles. If you buy commercial chips, it’s not a given that the manufacturer has authorized their use in dual-use goods, let alone missiles. The manufacturer can block the supply at any time, for example, if it finds out that the chips are used for military purposes,” the expert notes.
“If Ukraine had a chip factory, it would be an important factor in making foreign manufacturers agree to cooperate with our defense companies. Many chips for the defense sector are not difficult to manufacture, and their development and production in Ukraine is quite possible.
“War is an economy. For example, processing boards in the middle of a thermal imaging camera now cost hundreds of dollars per unit, while they can be replaced with a single chip costing a single dollar. Currently, the need for thermal imaging cameras at the front is measured in hundreds of thousands of units. The one who controls the microelectronics can win the war,” summarizes Oko Camera’s CTO.
In addition, in-house production will help close the price/quality issue. Chinese semiconductors are cheap, but they are of poor quality and are bought en masse by Russia. Taiwanese, American, Canadian, or European semiconductors are of better quality, but several times more expensive than Chinese ones.
Finally, as DOU notes, this is also an opportunity for Ukraine to become a participant in the semiconductor market: to integrate into global supply chains and develop its own chip production.
