Samsung Electronics is the leader in the global semiconductor market by revenue in the third quarter of 2021 on the back of strong memory chip sales, according to a report from Omdia.
Intel, which had been the top chipmaker for 11 straight quarters, has slipped to #2 behind Samsung as the memory segment, where Samsung is the number one DRAM and NAND supplier, was the largest growth area for semiconductor business in the three months ending in September.
DRAM is commonly used in personal computers, workstations and servers. NAND flash is a type of non-volatile storage that does not require power to store data.
Memory chip revenue globally rose 12 percent from the previous quarter, as demand for the chips used in applications and infrastructure for remote working and virtual learning has contributed to the growth. Memory chip segment accounts for 29 percent of all semiconductor revenue.
As a result, three of the global top four chipmakers were memory-focused semiconductor companies — Samsung, SK hynix and Micron Technology — in the same period.
The semiconductor market reached $153.2 billion in revenue in the July-September period, up 7.6 percent from the second quarter, continuing to set records for four consecutive quarters.
Samsung’s market share in the DRAM sector increased to 43.9 percent from 43.2 percent in the second quarter, while SK hynix took up 27.6 percent, down 0.6 percentage point, and Micron stayed put at 22.7 percent.
