Next generation memory market

Next-generation memory is a major upgrade over software-hardware products. It is an ideal substitute for existing mass production memories such as SRAM and Flash. It offers better features and is expected to replace the existing mass production memories in the near future. These memories are also carving out niche application areas for themselves and are poised to become mainstream in the near future; however, not all existing memories would be replaced. Next generation memories include ReRAM (Resistive Random Access Memory), MRAM (Magneto-resistive Random Access Memory), PCM (Phase-Change Memory), and FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory).

The global Next generation memory technologies market is estimated to be valued at US$ 6567.5 million in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 56.8 % over the forecast period (2021-2028).

Recent Developments:

In May 2021 – Samsung, a South Korean based electronics company announced developed next generation DRAM memory in the industry.

In December 2020, Intel Corporation, a U.S. based semiconductor company launched 6 next gen memory and storage to help customers meet the challenges of digital transformation.

Statistics:

Figure 1. Global Next Generation memory technologies Market Value (US$ Mn), by Region, 2020

Asia Pacific held dominant position in the global next generation memory technologies market in 2020, accounting for 42.6% share in terms of Value, followed by North America, Europe and Rest of the world respectively.

Market Dynamics- Drivers

Increasing demand for faster and highly scalable memories is expected to drive growth of the global next generation memory technologies market during the forecast period

Currently, there is a high demand for emerging memory technologies, owing to significant demand for faster, highly scalable, and low power memories. Scaling has become a major issue across the memory industry, with some older memories facing scalability issues. Moreover, current leakage is another major issue when scaled at 65nm and beyond. Apart from newer memories, there has been development in 3-D memory structures. Besides newer memories, there has been development in three-dimensional memory structures. These structures offer a temporary solution; however, this technology has its own limitations. Flash faces serious architectural problems when scaled below 90nm. Therefore, these factors are expected to drive growth of the global next generation memory technologies market during the forecast period.

Declining profit margins with legacy memory technologies are expected to propel the global next generation memory technologies market growth over the forecast period

High volatility in prices of existing memories is compelling market players to search for newer memories that can provide higher profit margin. Earlier, companies had to reduce their fabrication capacity to enhance the demand and aid in increasing the prices of memory. However, this was only a temporary solution. There is a need for a memory solution that can lead to sustainable profit margins and this has been driving the demand for next generation memory technologies. Therefore, these factors are expected to propel the global next generation memory technologies market growth in the near future.

Market Opportunities

Growing demand for a universal memory solution can present lucrative growth opportunities in the global next generation memory technologies market

Semiconductor memory has unified qualities of different memory technologies existing today. It should have high speed comparable to SRAM, non-volatility akin to flash, and high density comparable to DRAM. Furthermore, an ideal memory is low-cost and highly scalable. It should be suitable for the system-on-chip (SoC) market. Currently, each of the available technologies delivers acceptable performance for a single purpose; however, many systems need all three memory types to deliver good overall performance at a logical cost. 

Research and development activities by market players can provide key business opportunities in the global next generation memory technologies market

Key players operating in the market are focused on research and development activities, in order to enhance the product portfolio. For instance, in February 2013, Everspin launched MR10Q010, a new product with 1MB Serial MRAM with SPI interface. In May 2013, Micron launched a new PCIe input/output accelerator.

Market Trends

Strong competition with new technologies

The global next generation memory technologies are significantly smaller as compared to DRAM and Flash. Newer memories still lag behind in terms of scalability and density of NAND; however, the chip density of these memories is expected to improve significantly in the next few years. This would fuel its adoption in several newer applications. The adoption of PCM and MRAM is likely to grow significantly in cache memory and enterprise storage as new memories improve the input/output performance and offer a lower cost per bit. With the availability of 1GB chips, the adoption of PCM in mobile phones is anticipated to increase significantly.

Partnerships and collaborations among market players

Key players in the market are focused on partnerships and collaborations, in order to gain a competitive edge in the market. For instance, in November 2012, Micron collaborated with AgigA Tech for the development of non-volatile DIMM (dual in-line memory module) technology. In June 2012, the company collaborated with IBM to develop PCM technology. Furthermore, in July 2011, Hynix collaborated with Toshiba Co. to jointly develop MRAM.

Figure 2. Global Next Generation Memory Technologies Market Share, By Product Type, 2020

Key Takeaways of the Graph:

• The NVM segment held dominant position in the market and accounted for 99.1% share in the global next generation memory technologies market in 2020. The segment is expected to reach US$ 84,809.4million in 2028. This growth can be attributed to its improved performance, higher endurance, lower power consumption, better scalability with extremely high write endurance, and much higher write speeds than other volatile memory technologies.
• The Cache memory and enterprise storage segment held dominant position in the market and accounted for 26.7% share in the global next generation memory technologies market in 2020. The segment is expected to reach US$ 1530.7 million in 2028. This growth can be attributed to the growing data centers across the globe. Increasing need for data storage capabilities in cloud storage and data centers is also creating demand for NGM technologies in the market.

Market Dynamics- Restraint

High designing cost and density considerations are expected to hamper the global next generation memory technologies market growth over the forecast period

High cost of designing remains a major issue for emerging memories. Design process needs to be standardized and economy of scale needs to be achieved, in order to make it more cost-effective than conventional memories such as flash or DRAM. Therefore, these factors are expected to hamper the global next-generation memory technologies market growth over the forecast period.

Lack of stability under extreme environmental conditions is expected to restrain growth of the global next generation memory technologies market during the forecast period

Stability under high temperature and extreme environmental conditions are some of the major requirements of emerging memory technologies. The traditional memory technologies can sustain under extreme temperature and environmental conditions. However, under extreme temperature and environmental conditions, emerging technologies face scalability and stabilities issues. This, in turn, is expected to restrain growth of the global next generation memory technologies market during the forecast period.

Global Next Generation Memory Technologies Market: Competitive Landscape

Major companies operating in the global next generation memory technologies market are Micron Technology, Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Everspin Technologies, Inc., Winbond Electronics Corporation, SK Hynix Inc., Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Avalanche Technology, Inc., Adesto Technologies Corporation Inc., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Key Developments

Major companies are focused on product launched, in order to expand the product portfolio. For instance, in August 2019, Micron Technology Inc. launched the highest-capacity monolithic 16 GB low-power double data rate 4X (LPDDR4X) DRAM.

Key players are involved in product development, in order to gain a competitive edge in the market. For instance, in November 2019, Fujitsu Ltd. introduced next-generation storage performance ETERNUS AF S3 all-flash arrays and ETERNUS DX S5 hybrid storage systems.