Gartner: Global AI chips revenue to grow 33% in 2024

The global revenue from AI semiconductors is forecast to total $71 billion in 2024, making a 33% increase from 2023, according to data from Gartner, Inc. Alan Priestly, VP Analyst at Gartner, said generative AI (GenAI) is fuelling demand for high-performance AI chips in data centres.

“In 2024, the value of AI accelerators used in servers, which offload data processing from microprocessors, will total $21 billion, and increase to $33 billion by 2028,” Priestley said.

Gartner forecasts that AI PC shipments will make up 22% of the total PC shipments in 2024; by the end of 2026, 100% of enterprise PC purchases will be an AI PC. AI PCs include a neural processing unit (NPU) that enables them to run longer, quieter and cooler with AI tasks running continually in the background, creating new opportunities for leveraging AI in everyday activities.

While AI semiconductor revenue will continue to experience growth through the forecast period, 2024 will experience the highest growth rate during that period. In 2024, the AI chips revenue from compute electronics is projected to total $33.4 billion, accounting for 47% of total AI semiconductors revenue. AI chips revenue from automotive electronics is expected to reach $7.1 billion, while consumer electronics is forecast to reach $1.8 billion in revenue in 2024.

While the focus is largely on the use of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) for new AI workloads, major hyperscalers like AWS, Google, Meta and Microsoft are all investing in developing their own chips optimised for AI. Although chip development is expensive, using custom-designed chips can improve operational efficiencies, reduce the costs of delivering AI-based services to users and lower costs for users to access new AI-based applications.

“As the market shifts from development to deployment we expect to see this trend continue,” Priestley said.

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