New update shows Intel continues to lead research and development ranking, the top 10 raised spending 18% last year, and 21 companies invested $1 billion or more on R&D in 2021.
Research and development spending by semiconductor companies worldwide is forecast to grow 9% in 2022 to $80.5 billion after climbing by an above average 13% in 2021 to a record-high $71.4 billion, according to IC Insights’ soon-to-be-released 2Q Update to The McClean Report 2022. Total R&D spending by semiconductor companies is expected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% between 2022 and 2026 to $108.6 billion.
When the world was hit by the Covid-19 virus health crisis in 2020, wary semiconductor suppliers kept a lid on R&D spending increases even though the chip industry’s revenue grew by a surprising 11% in the year despite shutdowns of businesses and other emergency measures to slow the deadly pandemic. Semiconductor R&D spending as a percentage of worldwide industry sales slipped to a ratio of 13.1% in 2021 compared to 14.5% in 2020 and 15.1% in 2019, when research and development expenditures declined 1% and total chip market revenue fell 12%. Figure 1 plots semiconductor R&D spending levels and the industry’s R&D/sales ratios over the past four decades and IC Insights’ forecast through 2026.
