Financial
• The global top 10 IC design houses saw a 49% growth in 2024 with Nvidia commanding half of that market growth. Combined revenue for the top 10 foundries reached $249,8 billion with Nvidia posting a 125% revenue growth and increasing its lead over its competitors.
• NAND Flash suppliers begun reducing production in Q4 2024 and the effects are now starting to show. NAND prices are expected to stabilise in the second quarter of 2025 with the prices of wafers projected to rise slightly during this period.
• Downstream inventory reduction has eased the DRAM price decline in Q2 2025. Conventional DRAM prices are expected to decline by up to 5% QoQ, while average DRAM pricing including HBM is forecast to rise by 3% to 8%, driven by increasing shipments of HBM3e 12hi. Mobile DRAM prices are expected to rise slightly, while the decline in graphics DRAM slows. Consumer DRAM is expected to see recovery in Q2.
• With the upcoming end of Windows 10 support, client SSD demand is increasing as sales of new computing hardware escalates. SSD contract prices are expected to increase between 3% and 8% QoQ in Q2 2025.
• The latest debacle with the US tariffs is forecast to curb investment and consumption momentum in the electronics market. Coupled with the current inflationary and recessionary risks, this has prompted a downward revision of the 2025 shipment outlook for many device sectors including AI servers, smartphones, and notebooks.
• Berg Insight recently released a new report stating that the commercial and governmental drone market is set to reach $37,3 billion worldwide by 2029. This relates to a CAGR of 15% over the 4-year period. The market value includes drone systems and associated software used for applications within agriculture, military and defence, public safety and first response, surveying and inspection, and delivery and logistics, but excludes recreational drones.
Companies
• Eskom has finally brought the last of Kusile’s generating units online, potentially adding 800 MW to the national grid. Unit 6 will now undergo testing and optimisation before reaching commercial operation when the 800 MW will be added to Eskom’s generation fleet. This will mark the end of the build of both Kusile and Medupi. Kusile started in 2008 and was expected to be completed in 6 years but overran by 10 years and cost hundreds of billions of rand more than the initial estimate.
• Google Cloud recently celebrated the official opening of its first cloud region on the African continent. This milestone, situated in Johannesburg, is part of Google’s $1 billion commitment to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. The project provides African businesses and multinational corporations with cutting-edge AI, machine learning, data analytics, and security technologies.
• Kioxia recently won the prestigious Nimbus Innovation Award in the ‘Best SSD Innovation’ category for its optical interface SSD. The technology replaces conventional wiring with optical wiring enabling data centre engineers to increase the physical distance between devices, while maintaining energy efficiency and high signal quality.
• Ford Manufacturing in Silverton, Pretoria, has become the first Ford factory in the world to produce the new Ranger Plug-In Hybrid EV. The full-scale production is set to produce PHEVs for the export market with the first shipment to Europe already on its way. Australia and New Zealand have also been named as future export destinations.
• Mouser Electronics has been named 2024 Global Distributor of the Year by Amphenol SV Microwave. Mouser offers a full line of SV Microwave RF connectors, cable assemblies and passive components. This is the third time that Mouser has received this award.
• Indium Corporation has earned two new product awards for its high-reliability flux-cored wire, CW-807RS, and its solder alloy used for solder paste, Durafuse HR. An independent panel of practicing engineers selected the honourees for the Circuits Assembly NPI awards based on a variety of criteria, including creativity and innovation, design, and performance.
Technologies
• At the GTC 2025 conference, Nvidia unveiled its open-source Isaac GR00T N1 model specifically dedicated to optimising AI training for the robotics sector. This open-source model features comprehensive datasets, multi-modal inputs, and adaptable training capabilities, enabling researchers to fine-tune GR00T N1 with real and synthetic data for specific environments and applications in humanoid robotics. Figure AI and Google have also recently entered the humanoid robotics sector with their Helix and Gemini Robotics, respectively. Like GR00T N1, these models integrate rapid motion planning with cognitive decision-making to enhance robotic autonomy. However, NVIDIA’s superior dataset quality and deployment flexibility currently provide a competitive edge over its rivals.
• Staying with Nvidia, the company is expected to launch their GB300 chip ahead of schedule in the second quarter 2025. However, GB200-based systems are expected to remain the primary components for full-rack shipments until the latter quarter of 2025. The company is facing mounting pressure from the increased demand for the China-specific H20 model after the release of the DeepSeek AI model.
• Kioxia’s recently introduced its new LC9 Series 122,88 terabyte capacity NVMe SSD in a 2,5-inch form factor at CloudFest 2025. This drive is a game changer to the industry and addresses the growing storage demands of AI workloads, offering ultra-high capacity, efficient performance, and scalability for applications such as large language models, generative AI, and vector databases.
• STMicroelectronics and Innoscience have announced an agreement on GaN technology development and manufacturing, leveraging the strengths of each company to enhance GaN power solutions and supply chain resilience. The companies have agreed on a joint development initiative on GaN power technology, to advance the promising future of GaN power for consumer electronics, datacentres, automotive and industrial power systems, and many more applications in the coming years.
• The LiDAR market is projected to reach $5,35 billion by 2029 thanks to advanced autonomous driving and logistics demand. Automakers are integrating LiDAR into passenger vehicles to enable advanced driver assistance systems and Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities.
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