A Second Look at the ASIC / SoC / SIP Markets

Phoenix, Arizona October 19, 2010 - Semico Research continues to receive significant interest and demand for its most recent round of ASIC/SoC/SIP market research reports. Due to the high volume of inquiries, we are revisiting the headlines from these report releases. For more detailed report descriptions and Tables of Contents, click on the highlighted report titles below. For additional information or to purchase this report, please contact us at jfeldhan@semico.com or 602-997-0337. SoC Market to Recover Strongly in 2010 Phoenix, AZ - August 3rd, 2010 - The SoC market experienced negative revenue for the first time in 2009. Total market revenues declined 19.2% in response to weak end-market unit demand and increasing pressure on device ASPs. However, as market demand solidifies, revenues will grow from $45.3B in 2010 to $69.4B by 2015, a CAGR of 8.9%. The gap between time-to-market and design completion has been lengthening for the last few years. Just as design cycle times have lengthened, product life cycles have become shorter. It is estimated that the time to design fairly complex SoC silicon is twelve to sixteen months, and a typical product life cycle length at just nine months. The SoC methodology is seen as a way to bring this process under control once again. Semico's new report, System(s)-on-a-Chip: A Change in SoC Design Methodology discusses the issues above as well as the state of the market by delving into the: • Myths of the SoC Market • Design Productivity Gap • Mask Set Costs • Desegregation of the Semiconductor Industry • Growth in the Number of SIP Blocks per Design In addition, Rich Wawrzyniak gives worldwide ASIC, ASSP, and SoC forecasts into 2015, goes into detail on the market trends and drivers for 2010, and discusses the expectations for the product and market. 71 Applications Can't Be Wrong About ASIC Design Starts Phoenix, AZ - August 30th, 2010 - The worldwide financial meltdown of 2008-2009 impacted the ASIC design start landscape as many designs that were underway were either cancelled outright or were suspended pending a recovery in the end markets. Starting at the end of 1Q09, the market decline halted, markets stabilized and came roaring back in the second half of 2009 and into 2010. The rise of the Basic SoC category, using CPU cores from 3rd Party Intellectual Party vendors rather than proprietary CPUs, has redefined the ASIC design start market as silicon designers are crafting their silicon solutions to meet changing market requirements and increasing design costs. These changes and many more are outlined in a new report from Semico Research titled ASIC Design Starts by Key End Market Applications. This report looks at changes and trends in 71 end applications concentrated in the Computer, Consumer, Communications, Transportation and Industrial market categories. The report tracks the design starts and unit shipments of nine different types of ASIC products--Analog, Mixed Signal, Gate Array, Advanced Performance Multicore SoCs, Value Multicore SoCs, Basic SoCs, PLDs, FPGAs and Structured ASICs--used in the profiled applications. Forecasts for all end applications, ASIC design starts and unit shipments are given from 2009-2014. The Changing ASIC Design Landscape Phoenix, AZ - September 14, 2010 - The ASIC Design Start landscape has changed a lot in the last four years. Increasing design costs, rising design complexity, lengthening design cycle times, and the recent global economic meltdown have all had an impact, especially on the System-on-a-Chip (SoC) market. Semico Research Corp has published its analysis of these issues in a new report titled ASIC Design Starts: Recovery in the Markets. This report provides a picture of the Design Starts market by ASIC product type, end-use market category, process geometry, gate count, and region. This report tracks both design starts and unit shipments of 9 different types of ASICs, including: • Analog • Mixed Signal • Gate Array • Advanced Performance Multicore SoCs • Value Multicore SoCs • Basic SoCs • PLDs • FPGAs • Structured ASICs SIP Market Consolidating, Not Weakening Phoenix, AZ - October 5, 2010 -- 2008 was forecast to be a good growth year, until external events in worldwide financial markets overtook the SIP market. The SIP industry was not immune to the market forces unleashed in 2008, declining 21.9% in 2009. However, the recovery which arrived in the second half of 2009 prevented the 3rd Party SIP from declining at an even steeper rate. It is Semico's view that the SIP market will continue to perform at rates comparable to other semiconductor markets, with 17.1% growth in 2010. This is due to the trend for more and more SIP to be instantiated into SoCs and other device types that use SIP. Semico believes that semiconductor unit shipments will be strongly positive in 2010 and into 2011. The SIP market is undergoing a round of consolidation with the number of companies shrinking approximately 50% by 2010 compared to 2000. However, this is not a sign of a weakening market, but rather of the market sorting itself out with strong contenders consolidating their positions. Semico projects this market to continue to grow, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.6% from 2010 - 2015. These changes and many more are outlined in a new report from Semico Research Corp. entitled: 3rd Party Semiconductor Intellectual Property: Resumption of Growth, SC103-10, September 2010. About Semico We are a semiconductor marketing & consulting research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. Semico was founded in 1994 by a group of semiconductor industry experts. We have improved the validity of semiconductor product forecasts via technology roadmaps in end-use markets. Semico offers custom consulting, portfolio packages, individual market research studies and premier industry conferences.