Nvidia just took it to another level from being a quiet kid to becoming the Class President. With a persistent craving for AI, Nvidia elevated itself above its competitors. While others were twisted in the market, Nvidia was already proving that in the age of AI, the fastest chip wins, and everyone else is just buffering. Nvidia has successfully knocked down the giants of the semiconductor industry, Samsung and Intel, and now emerges on top of Gartner’s latest annual list of the top 10 semiconductor vendors by revenue. With an extraordinary demand for its AI accelerator chips, Nvidia’s 2024 revenue soared to $76.7 billion, which is an astounding year-on-year growth of 120%.

This chipmaker is the face for the generative AI boom, with its graphics processing units (GPUs) and specialized chips powering everything from large language models (LLMs) to data center operations. Within the industry, artificial intelligence is changing demand patterns at a rapid pace, this fact is reflected in the record-breaking growth by the company itself.

Samsung is Second, Intel Plummets to Third

Despite Nvidia’s rise, Samsung Electronics has comfortably held second place with revenue of $65.6 billion, which represents an increase of 60.8% year-over-year. DRAM and NAND flash memory markets, the two have always been the backbone and Samsung’s bread and butter revenue drivers. They are currently somewhat recovering and aiding the company.

Intel, for long the indisputable leader, has lost the ground and is now in third place. In 2024, the chipmaker managed to generate revenues of $49.8 billion, or an increase of a mere 0.8% over the previous year. Although Intel remains a dominant force in the marketplace for PC and server processors, it still has much ground to cover in the AI market, where its rival Nvidia currently reigns with power and authority.

Soaring Global Revenue Uplifts SK Hynix

Another significant shift occurred, with SK Hynix, Samsung’s local rival, rising to the fourth position with $44.1 billion in revenue. The demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is used in Nvidia’s GPUs, skyrocketed, giving SK Hynix a large advantage, allowing it to go up two slots in the Gartner rankings.

In 2024, global semiconductor revenue rose to $655.9 billion, marking a 21% increase from $532.1 billion in 2023. This momentum is likely to continue through 2025, with tech companies ramping up investments into AI infrastructure. The geopolitical tensions and possible U.S tariffs could dampen that growth if some key players tighten their belts on economic grounds. Gartner doesn’t rank pure-play foundries like Taiwan’s TSMC. If it did, TSMC, whose revenues in 2024 are at $88.9 billion, would be at the top of the list.

Emerging Technology Era

The rise of Nvidia means a turning point for the semiconductor industry. For so many years, this industry has been ruled by memory and CPU giants. Now, the pendulum has swung toward those who manufacture the brains of artificial intelligence. Nvidia is ready to ride this wave, as massive investments get poured into AI by companies, governments, and startups. With AI demand pounding, and geopolitical tensions about to modify the existing global supply chain, the semiconductor leaderboard might shift again. However, it is Nvidia’s domain, and it will not be giving it up anytime soon.