Mixed Signal and IoT Driving ASIC Design Starts Growth, says Semico Research

Steady demand in existing end markets and growth from new end applications are pushing ASIC design activity to new levels.  This increase in growth is based on very good growth in the Mixed Signal ASIC market and in the Basic SoC market. The Basic SoC market is being driven by the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the need for silicon solutions for this segment. Mixed Signal ASIC designs have been growing for the last few years as more systems seek to interface to analog 'real world' functions. According to a new Semico Research report ASIC Design Starts for 2016 by Key End Market Applications (SC106-16, March 2016), the total ASIC design start market is expected to grow 5.0% in 2016 on top of a 4.5% growth rate in 2015.
 
"Increases in ASIC design start activity are key to the improving health of the semiconductor market going forward," said Rich Wawrzyniak, Principal Analyst for ASIC and SoC at Semico Research Corp.  "The steady increase in unit volumes in many end markets also has a positive impact on design start activity and provides great support for the 3rd Party IP market as well. A growing proportion of new growth is coming from IoT-type applications as more traditional end applications are seeing some slowness."
 
Key findings of the report include:

• Advanced Performance Multicore SoCs will grow 4.6% in 2016
• 1st time SoC design efforts increase over the forecast period
• Basic SoC design starts have the highest CAGR at 11.7% from 2015 - 2020
• Unit shipments for Industrial applications lead the industry in CAGR followed by Consumer, Communications, Automotive/Transportation and Computer

Semico Research's new report, ASIC Design Starts for 2016 by Key End Market Applications (SC106-16, March 2016), offers a comprehensive analysis of the ASIC design start landscape today and into the future and provides excellent data for product planning, marketing and sales activities at fabless semiconductor companies, 3rd Party IP vendors and major OEMs and IDMs.  It includes: 

• 74 end-market applications analyzed and organized into categories by Computer, Consumer, Communications, Industrial and Automotive.
• Nine ASIC product types (including Mixed Signal), three SoC types, FPGAs and PLDs are analyzed by design starts with unit shipments for each.
• Two years of history (2014 -2015) and a 5-year forecast (2016 - 2020) are provided.

Related Semico Reports:

• System(s)-on-a-Chip: Changes in SoC Design Methodology II
• Licensing, Royalty and Service Revenues for 3rd Party SIP: A Market Analysis and Forecast for 2015
• SoC Silicon and Software Design Cost Analysis: How Rising Costs Impact SoC Design Starts