Weekly News 34

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1. Africa's Q2 smartphone shipment rankings have been released.

2. AMD Ryzen CPUs have surpassed Intel's market share in South Korea's DIY market.

3. Samsung Electronics announced that it will apply back-end power delivery technology to its 2nm process.

4. Rebellions is accelerating the mass production of its next-generation AI chip, which features four Samsung HBM3E memory modules.

5. The global semiconductor market continues to grow in 2024, with major companies showing strong performance.                                                                                                                                            

Africa's Q2 smartphone shipment rankings have been released.

In regional terms, the North African market led the entire African region with double-digit growth. Despite facing import challenges, Algeria saw a 52% increase. Egypt's shipments surged by 27%, driven by currency stability and government initiatives to promote local manufacturing, attracting brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, and Samsung, with HMD recently entering partnership talks. All eyes are now on Apple. In contrast, Morocco's shipments plummeted by 24% due to ongoing import issues following a tariff increase earlier this year.

From a brand perspective, Transsion continues to dominate with a 51% market share, but even as the leading player, it felt the pressure of a slowing market, with a growth rate of only 1%. Samsung maintained a 19% market share, but its shipments dropped by 25% due to decreased focus on entry-level models. In stark contrast, Xiaomi grew by 45%, setting a new regional market share record at 12%. Xiaomi's strategic focus on Nigeria and Egypt, along with aggressive sales strategies and local investments, has paid off significantly.

Comment: Although the African smartphone market is growing rapidly, feature phones still hold 52% of the market, indicating ample room for smartphone expansion. In Sub-Saharan Africa, device installment plans are becoming a key driver, making smartphones more accessible to average consumers.

AMD Ryzen CPUs have surpassed Intel's market share in South Korea's DIY market.

According to Korean media reports, data indicates that Intel's CPU market share in the Korean DIY market has sharply declined from over 55% in August 2023 to the current 45%, while AMD's Ryzen series CPUs have surged, capturing 55% of the market share.

This shift is largely attributed to stability issues with Intel's 13th and 14th generation CPUs, affecting more than 8 million units. Meanwhile, AMD's Ryzen processors have not only gained favor in the DIY market but have also seen a significant increase in sales of PCs supplied to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Comment: The rise of AMD's Ryzen series CPUs in the Korean DIY market reflects the growing consumer demand for high-performance processors and underscores the direct impact of product stability on market share. Intel's stability issues have created an opportunity for AMD, which has earned user trust with the strong performance and reliability of its Ryzen series processors.

Samsung Electronics announced that it will apply back-end power delivery technology to its 2nm process.

Samsung Electronics has announced the adoption of backside power delivery network (BSPDN) technology in its 2-nanometer semiconductor process. This advancement is expected to reduce chip area by approximately 17% while improving performance by 8% and lowering power consumption by 15%. This marks the first time Samsung has publicly disclosed performance improvement data related to BSPDN technology.

Compared to the traditional front-side power delivery network (FSPDN) structure, BSPDN technology addresses bottlenecks caused by resource competition by rearranging signal lines, transistors, and power lines. Samsung plans to begin offering the 2nm process (SF2Z) incorporating BSPDN technology to customers in 2027. Additionally, Samsung intends to launch a second-generation 2nm process (SF2P) in 2026, which will feature the fourth-generation gate-all-around (GAA) technology. This process is expected to achieve a 12% performance improvement and a 25% reduction in power consumption.

Comment: The application of BSPDN technology not only enhances Samsung's competitiveness in the advanced semiconductor manufacturing sector but also sets a new benchmark for the industry. As the demand for smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient chips continues to rise, Samsung's technological advancements are expected to have a profound impact on various fields, including smartphones, data centers, and artificial intelligence.

Rebellions are accelerating the mass production of its next-generation AI chip, which features four Samsung HBM3E memory modules.

According to Korean media reports, Oh Jin-wook, CTO of the South Korean AI chip startup Rebellions, has announced a revision to the company's production plans. Instead of proceeding with the previously planned Rebel 'Single' product, Rebellions will focus on mass-producing the Rebel Quad AI chip with 144GB of storage by the end of the year.

The Rebel Quad chip, manufactured using Samsung Electronics' 4nm process technology, features four Samsung 12-layer 36GB HBM3E modules, with memory capacity expandable up to 144GB. It is expected to deliver a bandwidth of up to 4.8TB/s, providing high-performance computing support for generative AI servers such as ChatGPT while addressing power consumption concerns prevalent among AI data center companies.

Rebellions have also recently signed a formal merger agreement with Sapeon Korea. The merged entity will retain the Rebellions name, and the combined company's value is projected to exceed 1 trillion Korean won, enhancing its competitiveness in the global AI chip market.

Comment: Rebellions' AI chip mass production plans and its merger with Sapeon Korea highlight the urgent market demand for high-performance AI computing and a growing focus on efficient memory technologies. This strategic move reflects the semiconductor industry's reliance on advanced manufacturing processes and its emphasis on power efficiency. It also underscores the trend toward industry consolidation and the urgent need to enhance competitiveness in the global market. Furthermore, Rebellions' product strategy emphasizes the importance of custom hardware tailored for specific AI applications, showcasing the accelerated pace of technological iteration. This acceleration places higher demands on companies' ability to rapidly adapt to market changes.

The global semiconductor market continues to grow in 2024, with major companies showing strong performance.

In the second quarter of 2024, the global semiconductor market reached $149.9 billion, marking an 18.3% year-over-year increase and demonstrating strong market momentum. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) has revised its forecast for the first quarter of 2024, adjusting the growth rate from 15.3% to 17.8%. 

Among major semiconductor companies, the most reported revenue growth was in the second quarter, particularly memory firms such as SK Hynix, Kioxia, Samsung Semiconductor, and Micron Technology. Nvidia and Samsung continued to lead the market, while Intel dropped to fourth place.

Despite anticipated lower growth rates in the third quarter for some companies like Intel, MediaTek, and STMicroelectronics, AMD, and Micron are expected to continue their strong performance. The robust growth in the first half of 2024 sets a solid foundation for the year, with full-year growth projections ranging from 14.4% to 20.7%. For 2025, while growth is expected to moderate, the market anticipates a strong performance, with projected growth between 11.0% and 15.6%.

Comment: Despite challenges such as inventory oversupply, the global semiconductor market continues to exhibit strong vitality in 2024. The robust growth of memory companies and rising demand from data centers are driving market expansion. Leading companies have maintained their growth momentum through technological innovation and market adaptability. However, forecasts for 2025 and beyond suggest that the recovery in artificial intelligence and memory markets is expected to gradually weaken. The market is anticipated to transition into a phase of stable growth.