SK hynix, led by high bandwidth memory (HBM), overtook "semiconductor giant" Intel to rank third in global semiconductor industry revenue. As artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spreads and semiconductor demand surges, the industry landscape has been rapidly reshaped around AI.
According to market research firm Gartner on the 13th, global semiconductor revenue in 2025 rose 21% from the previous year to $793 billion (about 1.1684 quadrillion won). As AI infrastructure investment moved into full swing, AI-related semiconductors such as processors, HBM, and networking chips led growth.
Rajeev Rajput, a senior analyst at Gartner, said, "AI Semiconductor is expected to account for about one-third of total semiconductor revenue in 2025," and noted, "With AI infrastructure investment projected to exceed $1.3 trillion this year, this market dominance will only strengthen."
Global big tech corporations such as Google, Microsoft (MS), Amazon, and Meta expanded investment in AI data centers, driving a surge in demand for high-performance semiconductors. In particular, demand for HBM soared to resolve data bottlenecks between Nvidia GPUs and processors.
AI-centered demand shifts also altered the revenue rankings of global chipmakers. According to Gartner's tally, SK hynix posted $60.64 billion in 2025 revenue (7.6% share), up 37.2% from a year earlier. Over the same period, Intel came in at $47.883 billion (6.0% share), ceding the No. 3 spot to SK hynix.
This is the first time since 2018 that SK hynix has ranked third in global semiconductor revenue. With the memory supercycle, it effectively led HBM supply and emerged as the biggest beneficiary of expanding AI infrastructure investment.
Intel, by contrast, remained highly dependent on central processing units (CPUs) for PCs and servers, missing out on the direct upside from the expanding AI accelerator market. It released the AI chip "Gaudi," but the market response was limited, and a slowdown in demand for CPUs for PCs and general-purpose servers compounded the impact, sending revenue down 3.9% from a year earlier. Intel's market share shrank from 12% in 2021 to about half that level.
Nvidia took the top spot in revenue. Nvidia logged $125.703 billion in 2025 revenue (15.8% share), up 63.9% from the previous year. It became the first among semiconductor corporations to surpass $100 billion in annual revenue.
Nvidia first broke into the top five in 2023, when AI demand took off, then rose to No. 1 for the first time the following year and cemented its lead in 2025.
Samsung Electronics increased revenue 10.4% year over year to $72.544 billion (9.1% share) in 2025, holding second place for a second straight year. Samsung Electronics previously beat Intel to take the top spot in revenue during the memory boom of 2017–2018 and during the pandemic-driven surge in 2021.
Micron is another beneficiary of expanding memory demand. Micron posted $41.487 billion (5.2% share), up 50.2% from a year earlier, lifting its ranking from seventh to fifth.
As the three memory makers—Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron—focused on producing HBM and server DRAM, supply of commodity DRAM for PCs and smartphones became relatively tight, and upward price pressure is growing.
Qualcomm and Broadcom, despite revenue growth of 12.3% and 23.3% respectively, slipped to sixth and seventh, edged out by Micron. They were followed by AMD, Apple, and MediaTek in the top 10. The top 10 companies' revenue share expanded to 62.8% from 58.8% a year earlier.
Gartner projected that AI Semiconductor will account for more than 50% of total semiconductor revenue by 2029. The gap between corporations that have secured a lead in AI Semiconductor and those that have not is likely to widen further.
Meanwhile, Gartner's rankings were compiled based on suppliers that design semiconductors in-house and sell them under their own brands. Pure-play foundry TSMC was excluded from those surveyed, but based on results TSMC released, its 2025 revenue was about $117 billion, the world's second largest after Nvidia.