| Study Period | 2019 - 2030 |
| Market Size (2025) | USD 131.62 Billion |
| Market Size (2030) | USD 162.45 Billion |
| CAGR (2025 - 2030) | 4.30 % |
| Fastest Growing Market | Asia Pacific |
| Largest Market | North America |
| Market Concentration | High |
Major Players*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order |
Processor Market Analysis
The Processor Market size is estimated at USD 131.62 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 162.45 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period (2025-2030).
A processor is an important integrated circuitry (IC) in computing devices and performs all of the calculations needed to run the computer.
- The proliferation of consumer electronic devices is among the key factors responsible for the market growth, with CPUs being used within almost all electronic devices, from smartphones to smartwatches. Additionally, there has been a significant increase in the number of wearable devices sold over the past few years. According to Cisco, the number of connected wearable devices was estimated to rise from 835 million in 2020 to 1,105 million in 2022, fuelling the demand for processors.
- Also, with the growing base of tech-savvy consumers, there has been a significant rise in the adoption of smartphones, accelerating the demand for mobile application processors. Application processors also find use in a variety of electronic devices such as tablets, e-readers, netbooks, gaming consoles, and automotive navigation devices.
- Moreover, the demand for data center CPUs continues to grow, with more businesses moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud. Also, one important trend in the data center CPU segment is the increasing use of multi-core processors, which enable more efficient processing of large amounts of data.
- However, one of the major restraints for the market is the need for highly skilled and qualified personnel to create application processors. This has hindered the market growth since processors take time to reach the end-user.
Processor Market Trends
APUs to Acquire a Significant Share
- An application processor is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) processor responsible for the optimal functioning of applications running in a mobile operating system. APUs are used in a wide range of electronic devices like tablets, e-readers, smartphones, netbooks, gaming consoles, and automotive navigation devices.
- The rising penetration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is one of the key factors contributing to the market growth for APUs. For instance, according to Ericsson, at the end of 2022, 6.6 billion smartphone subscriptions were estimated, accounting for about 79% of all mobile phone subscriptions. This is expected to reach 7.8 billion in 2028, accounting for around 84% of all mobile subscriptions.
- A smartphone application processor comprises a chip that assists the smartphone's operating system. The performance of the smartphone is at the optimal level with the use of an application processor. Customers' smartphone experience continues to increase due to the use of advanced processors.
- Further, with the growing demand for smartphones with high-end graphics, an increasing number of mobile phones are being produced with advanced application processors. For instance, Samsung's Exynos 9 Series 9810, a premium application processor, is designed for artificial intelligence (AI) smartphone applications, tablets, and other media devices.
- Moreover, the widespread use of application processors in wearable devices and other applications such as automotive ADAS and infotainment systems positively impacts the market growth. Also, with the increasing adoption of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), there is a rising demand for data-centric real-time applications, augmenting the Application Processor market.
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China to Register one of the Fastest Growth Rates
- China is the largest producer and exporter of consumer electronics in the world. Thus, it is one of the most prominent regions for the market as processors are used in a wide range of electronic devices. Moreover, the mass adoption of smartphones and smart devices by end users, cloud computing, big data, and AI by regional small and medium enterprises, and an increasing number of interconnected devices due to IoT further support the growth.
- The electronics manufacturing industry has also maintained steady expansion in recent times. As per a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, during the two months from January to February 2022, the added value of major electronics manufacturers rose 12.7% year-on-year, compared with the 7.5% growth seen in the overall industrial sector in the country.
- Moreover, China has experienced significant economic growth over the years, which is also reflected in the data center industry in the country. Currently, 47,000 data centers operate in the country with 1400 megawatts of capacity.
- In February 2023, China-based CPU manufacturer, Loongson, announced its brand new 3D5000 CPUs for China's domestic server market segment and HPC customers. As per the company, the CPUs offer high performance for cloud / super-computing and large data center workloads while providing up to 4 times faster performance than typical ARM chips.
- China also leads in 5G adoption globally. As per GSMA, the number of 5G base stations in China exceeded 2.3 million at the end of 2022, including around 887,000 built during the year. The country will likely be the first market with 1 billion 5G connections, reaching the milestone by 2025, as per the organization.
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Processor Industry Overview
The Processor Market is consolidated, with the presence of some major players. These players in the market use partnerships, mergers, innovations, investments, and acquisitions to improve their products and gain a competitive edge over others.
In August 2022, AMD launched the Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop processor lineup powered by the new 'Zen 4' architecture, delivering high performance for gamers, enthusiasts, and content creators. The new processors provide dominant performance and leadership energy efficiency, featuring up to 16 cores and 32 threads, and are built on an optimized, high-performance, TSMC 5nm process node.
In March 2022, NVIDIA launched its first Arm Neoverse-based discrete data center CPU designed for AI infrastructure and HPC, providing high performance and twice the memory bandwidth and energy efficiency compared to many of today's leading server chips.
Processor Market Leaders
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Nvidia
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AMD
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Intel
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Qualcomm
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Mediatek
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
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Processor Market News
- February 2023: MediaTek introduced the Dimensity 7200 chipset to amplify gaming and photography smartphone experiences. Dimensity 7200 utilizes the same TSMC 4nm second-generation process as the Dimensity 9200 and is highly suitable for ultra-slim designs in a range of shapes. The octa-core CPU combines two Arm Cortex-A715 cores, which have the ability to run at up to 2.8GHz, with six Cortex-A510 cores, enabling users to easily switch between apps and get the most out of each one.
- September 2022: Intel introduced the 13th Gen Intel Core processor family, led by the 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K desktop processor. The new 13th Gen Intel Core family comprised six new unlocked desktop processors with up to 24 cores and 32 threads, and clock speeds up to 5.8 GHz for optimum gaming, streaming, and recording experience.
Processor Industry Segmentation
A processor refers to an integrated electronic circuit that performs the calculations that run a computer. It performs arithmetical, logical, I/O, and other basic instructions that are passed from an operating system.
The processor market is segmented by type of product (CPU (client (desktop and laptop), server) and APU (smartphone, tablet, smart television, smart speakers)) and geography (China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, United States, Rest of the World)). The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (in USD) for all the above segments.
| By Type of Product | CPU | Client (Desktop and Laptop) | |
| Server | |||
| APU | Smartphone | ||
| Tablet | |||
| Smart Television | |||
| Smart Speakers | |||
| Other Applications (Smartwatch, Notebook, AR/VR, Automotive etc.) | |||
| By Geography *** | China (including Hong Kong) | ||
| Taiwan | |||
| United States | |||
| Latin America | |||
| Middle East and Africa | |||
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Processor Market Research Faqs
How big is the Processor Market?
The Processor Market size is expected to reach USD 131.62 billion in 2025 and grow at a CAGR of 4.30% to reach USD 162.45 billion by 2030.
What is the current Processor Market size?
In 2025, the Processor Market size is expected to reach USD 131.62 billion.
Who are the key players in Processor Market?
Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm and Mediatek are the major companies operating in the Processor Market.
Which is the fastest growing region in Processor Market?
Asia Pacific is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period (2025-2030).
Which region has the biggest share in Processor Market?
In 2025, the North America accounts for the largest market share in Processor Market.
What years does this Processor Market cover, and what was the market size in 2024?
In 2024, the Processor Market size was estimated at USD 125.96 billion. The report covers the Processor Market historical market size for years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The report also forecasts the Processor Market size for years: 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.
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Processor Industry Report
Statistics for the 2025 Processor market share, size and revenue growth rate, created by Mordor Intelligence™ Industry Reports. Processor analysis includes a market forecast outlook for 2025 to 2030 and historical overview. Get a sample of this industry analysis as a free report PDF download.
