Nvidia Beats Samsung, Intel, TSMC To Become Biggest Chipset Maker

In the third quarter of this year, Nvidia recorded staggering figures, with revenue reaching $18.12 billion.

Nvidia has surpassed Intel, TSMC and Samsung to emerge as the leading and most lucrative semiconductor chip brand, globally. ( Image Source :Getty )

Nvidia has surpassed Intel, TSMC and Samsung to emerge as the leading and most lucrative semiconductor chip brand, globally. Climbing from the fourth position in the first quarter (Q1) 2023, the GPU design major has now claimed the top spot in Q3, fueled by the thriving Generative AI (Gen AI) trend. Taipei's financial analyst, Dan Nystedt, who compiled financial data from Intel, Nvidia, Samsung Semiconductor and TSMC spanning all quarters since Q1 2021, mentioned that Nvidia is at the top as the world's most profitable chip company, as first spotted by Sam Mobile. In the third quarter of this year, Nvidia recorded staggering figures, with revenue reaching $18.12 billion and profits soaring to $10.42 billion -- a remarkable 206 per cent year-over-year surge, largely attributed to the sale of AI chips for data centres.

"Nvidia swooped in and took the third quarter chip industry revenue crown, beating out TSMC, Intel and Samsung as the generative AI trend continues to strengthen," Nystedt posted on X, formerly Twitter

"Nvidia could win second place in full-year chip revenue in 2023, beating Intel and Samsung, while TSMC remains on track to take the title," he added.

While South korean tech giant Samsung holds the title of the largest memory chip manufacturer globally, it grapples with challenges such as declining memory chip prices and cautious client behaviour over the past few years. Despite these hurdles, the demand for memory chips is anticipated to rise in the upcoming quarters.

Meanwhile, Samsung's substantial investments in enhancing chip fabrication technology position it well, and it is poised to secure contracts for chip production from chip giants AMD and Qualcomm.

In comparison, Samsung Semiconductor, Samsung's chip designing and manufacturing arm, had revenue of $12.52 billion but losses of $2.86 billion. TSMC, the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, generated $17.28 billion in revenue and $7.21 billion in profit. Intel's revenue for the third quarter of 2023 was $14.16 billion, but it lost $8 million. 

Earlier in October, Foxconn, the leading global contract electronics manufacturer based in Taiwan, revealed plans for a novel data centre infrastructure in collaboration with Nvidia, a major player in the chip industry. This data centre will integrate Nvidia chips and software, serving a diverse range of applications, notably in the realm of autonomous vehicles, as announced by both companies.

This announcement followed Nvidia's statement about new export restrictions impacting the sale of certain high-end AI chips in China, contributing to the remarkable threefold increase in Nvidia's shares throughout 2023, propelling the company's market value beyond $1 trillion, driven by the pivotal role of its chips in AI applications.