Asia-Pacific Semiconductor (Silicon) Intellectual Property Market Trends

Market Trends of Asia-Pacific Semiconductor (Silicon) Intellectual Property Industry

Consumer Electronics to Hold a Major Market Share

• The consumer electronics industry is evolving exponentially, and the pressure of demands from the consumer side has been compelling suppliers to provide differentiated products and be the first movers in the market. Currently, smart products are comprised of complex electronic systems that require an error-less operation. Faster data rates, device miniaturization, support for multiple wireless technologies, and longer battery life demand rigorous analysis. Furthermore, demand for various feature integrations onto a single device has led to intricate circuit board designs.
• Semiconductors are integrated into communication devices such as mobile phones and consumer electronics like gaming consoles, TV sets, and household appliances. The invention of integrated circuits (ICs) was one of the major drivers behind the development of the consumer electronics industry, including broadband and increasingly mobile applications.
• The market is continued in a strong position due to the data processing application market, driven by increased tablet sales and the communications market by smartphone sales. Moreover, consumer electronics also benefitted from a growth in units sold, particularly in digital set-top boxes.
• Vendors in the market are developing and integrating new technologies for applications in the consumer electronics market. For instance, in May 2021, Synopsys Inc. announced multiple SoC tape-outs at early adopters of the next-generation Arm Cortex-X2, Cortex-A510, and Cortex-A710 CPUs based on Arm Mali G710 GPUs, Armv9, and Arm DynamIQ. These next-generation SoCs were developed for high-end consumer devices to deliver improved performance and power efficiency through Arm’s new architectural innovations. Furthermore, the company jointly developed flows and methodologies aiming at 5nm, 4nm, and 3nm advanced-process technologies.
• Moreover, Imagination Technologies provides Semiconductor IP solutions targeting smartphones, digital television, tablet, and set-top box. The company integrates semiconductor design capability with PowerVR multimedia and AI cores to create advanced SoCs for further smartphone revolution.

The Automobile Segment is Anticipated to Register High Growth Rate

• The fast pace of innovation in the automobile industry has directly impacted the cost of automobile electronics in the total cost of vehicle design and build. As a result, this has led to an increased focus on the value of the IP needed to complete technology integration in the automotive space. Autonomous vehicles have become one of the largest consumers of semiconductor chips. Advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous driving systems, and in-vehicle infotainment drive the need for sensors such as LiDARs and RADARs, interconnected cameras, displays, and onboard processors.
• It is anticipated that each autonomous car will be able to create and consume up to 4 terabytes of data per hour. High-speed wired connectivity is crucial to moving this data from sensors to processing nodes and connecting the automotive components with low latency. Moreover, due to stringent safety requirements, automotive connectivity has to be resilient and reliable to interference and noise under harsh environments. In 2020, MIPI, a mobility-oriented global business alliance, released the first automotive long-reach SerDes interface specification, allowing data rates as high as 16 gigabits per second with a plan to 48 gigabits per second and beyond.
• Many companies are utilizing the autonomous vehicles trend by providing automotive semiconductor IPs. For instance, Achronix Semiconductor Corporation's Speedcore eFPGA IP enables automotive semiconductor suppliers to include a custom amount of programmable logic in their devices which permits more customization than a typical CPU or GPU.
• Further, the automobile sector is witnessing the integration of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in vehicles, primarily for enabling autonomous driving functionalities. Additionally, combining 5G networks is expected to make vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology more viable in major metropolitan areas. General Motors has launched a production vehicle equipped with V2X technology, the Buick GL8, in China. It is the first such brand with this technology in China. General Motors also announced that 5G technology would be available on new Cadillac and most Chevrolet and Buick vehicles starting in 2022.
• Incorporating such advanced technologies in the automobile sector drives the need for semiconductors, resulting in driving application-specific semiconductor IPs. As a result, companies are investing to fulfill the market demands.