By Greg Gao

(JW Insights) Jun 27 -- China’s leading image sensor maker Will Semiconductor(韦尔半导体) managed to rank No.9 in Global Top Ten IC Design Houses in the first quarter of 2023, according to the market research firm TrendForce on June 20.

After holding the No.10 position for four consecutive quarters, Will Semiconductor has risen to No.9 with a revenue of $540 million, representing a sequential growth of approximately 1.3%. The top five are Qualcomm, Broadcom, NVIDIA, AMD, and MediaTek, respectively.

TrendForce reports that inventory reduction in Q1 fell short of expectations and coincided with the industry’s traditional off-season, leading to overall subdued demand. However, due to new product release and a surge in urgent orders for specialized specifications, Q1 revenue of the global top ten IC design houses remained on par with 4Q22, with a modest quarter-over-quarter increase of 0.1% for a total revenue of $33.86 billion. 

Changes in the ranking included Cirrus Logic slipping from the top ten as well as the ninth and tenth positions being replaced by Will Semiconductor and MPS, respectively. The rest of the rankings remained unchanged.

The smartphone supply continues to grapple with overstock, but AI applications are entering a period of rapid growth. Looking ahead to the next quarter, although IC inventory clearance has been slower than anticipated, it has gradually rebounded to a healthier level in contrast to the period of excess inventory in the second half of 2022, according to TrendForce. 

Shanghai-based Will Semiconductor was founded in 2007. In 2019, it acquired the world’s leading image sensor company OmniVision Technologies which develops advanced digital imaging, analog, and touch and display solutions for multiple applications and industries.

After years of independent R&D and technological evolution, the company had accumulated significant technical advantages in CMOS image sensor circuit design, packaging, digital image processing, and supporting software, said the company.