Global Microcontroller Market, By Product Type (8-Bit, 16-Bit, 32-Bit), By Memory (Embedded Memory Microcontroller, External Memory Microcontroller), By End-User, By Region and Companies - Industry Segment Outlook, Market Assessment, Competition Scenario, Trends, and Forecast 2023-2032

Report Overview

In 2022, the global Microcontroller market was worth USD 31.6 billion. It is expected to reach USD 68.8 billion in 2032 growing at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2023-2032. Microcontroller is defined as a tiny device comprising an integrated circuit (IC) that contains a processing core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. It performs key particular control operations in embedded systems. Several applications like consumer electronics, industrial automation, automotive systems, medical equipment, and others often use microcontrollers.

They make it possible to control user interfaces, integrate sensors, and communicate with devices. Moreover, they are essential components of systems for factory automation, process control, robotics, and monitoring. They offer protocol control, sensor interface, data collecting, and motor drive control. The rising demand for microcontrollers from the automotive and medical sectors is a major factor driving the microcontroller market growth.

Moreover, the growing demand for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and the rise in the adoption of IoT are expected to fuel market growth during the projection period. Also, technological advancements and an increase in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to contribute to the growth of the microcontroller market.

Driving Factors

Growing demand for microcontrollers from the automotive sector

The growing demand for microcontrollers from the automotive sector is driven by various factors. Microcontrollers are integrated circuits that serve as the brain of many automotive systems, controlling functions such as engine management, safety features, infotainment systems, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Modern vehicles incorporate advanced safety features such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and collision avoidance systems. These systems heavily rely on microcontrollers to process data from various sensors and actuate the necessary responses. The demand for advanced infotainment systems and connectivity features in vehicles is on the rise.

Microcontrollers are essential for powering these systems, providing interfaces for touchscreens, managing audio processing, connecting to external devices, and enabling communication protocols such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Thus, the growing demand for microcontrollers from the automotive sector is a major factor driving the growth of the microcontroller market.

Increasing demand for microcontrollers from the medical sector

Microcontrollers are used in the medical sector for several applications. Microcontrollers, with their compact size, low power consumption, and processing capabilities, play a crucial role in various medical devices and systems. Microcontrollers are extensively used in a wide range of medical devices, including implantable devices, diagnostic equipment, patient monitoring systems, infusion pumps, ventilators, and blood glucose meters.

These devices rely on microcontrollers to control and monitor their operations, process data from sensors, and provide real-time feedback. The popularity of wearable devices in healthcare has surged in recent years. Wearable devices such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and health monitors utilize microcontrollers to gather data, perform analysis, and provide personalized health information to users.

Microcontrollers enable real-time monitoring of vital signs, activity levels, and other health-related metrics. Therefore, a rise in demand for microcontrollers from the medical sector is anticipated to stimulate market growth during the projected time period.

Restraining Factors

Lack of standardization

Microcontrollers come in a wide variety of architectures, instruction sets, and development environments. This lack of standardization can make it challenging to port or share code between different microcontroller platforms. It may also lead to a steeper learning curve when working with a new microcontroller model. Thus, a lack of standardization in microcontrollers may limit the market growth during the projected time period.

Complex development process

Programming microcontrollers typically requires knowledge of low-level programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language) and an understanding of the microcontroller’s architecture. This can make the development process more complex and time-consuming, especially for beginners or those accustomed to higher-level programming languages. Thus, complexities involved in the development process is expected to have a negative impact on the growth of the microcontroller market over the forecast period.

Limited processing power

Microcontrollers are generally designed with limited processing power compared to other computing devices like personal computers. They often have slower clock speeds and limited memory resources, which can limit the complexity and performance of the applications they can handle. Therefore, limited processing power offered by microcontrollers may restrain the market growth during the estimated time period.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The COVID-19 epidemic has tremendously influenced the microcontroller industry, hurting both production and demand. One of the most serious consequences of the pandemic has been interruptions in global supply chain systems. The shutdown of manufacturing facilities resulted in a lack of crucial components and supplies, causing significant production delays and bottlenecks. As a result, lead times for microcontrollers and other electrical components have increased, as have the prices of some devices.

The rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases in significant nations like China, Germany, the United States, Japan, and South Korea pushed their respective governments to impose tough lockdown rules during 2020. These laws mostly comprised city lockdowns, and many offices permitted offered work-from-home options. It shifted the attention of semiconductor manufacturers to produce more electronic equipment, which positively impacted the demand for microcontrollers. Therefore, the microcontroller market is likely to witness significant growth in the post-pandemic phase.

By Product Type Analysis

The 32-Bit microcontroller is witnessing the highest growth

The 32-bit segment dominated the microcontroller market in 2022 with the largest revenue share of 45%. 32-bit microcontrollers offer a cost-effective solution for many embedded systems and applications. They provide sufficient processing power and memory capacity while being more affordable compared to their 64-bit counterparts. Thus, the cost-effectiveness offered by these microcontrollers is a key factor driving the segment growth during the projection period. Also, in certain applications, power efficiency is a critical factor. 32-bit microcontrollers can be designed with lower power consumption, making them suitable for battery-powered devices and energy-efficient applications.

The 16-bit segment is like to witness high growth during the forecast period. 16-bit microcontrollers are often smaller in size and have lower power requirements compared to higher-bit architectures. This makes them suitable for compact and power-constrained devices, such as wearables, IoT devices, and sensor nodes.

The 16-bit microcontroller market has a well-established ecosystem with a wide range of development tools, software libraries, and community support. This makes it easier for developers to find resources, documentation, and assistance when working with 16-bit microcontrollers. Thus, the established ecosystem and support offered by these microcontrollers is a major factor that is expected to stimulate segment growth during the estimated time period.

By Memory Analysis

Embedded memory microcontroller dominates the microcontroller market

The embedded memory microcontroller leads the memory segment by accounting for a revenue share of 60% in 2022. Embedded memory microcontrollers provide an integrated solution that eliminates the need for external memory chips, reducing the overall system cost. This is especially beneficial for applications with lower memory requirements, where the cost of external memory chips and their associated circuitry can be significant.

These microcontrollers typically offer faster access times compared to external memory solutions. This can lead to improved overall system performance, especially for applications that require quick data retrieval or frequent memory access. Thus, cost-effectiveness, high efficiency, and improved performance are key factors driving the segment growth during the projection period.

Also, the external memory microcontroller is anticipated to witness high growth over the projection period. External memory microcontrollers provide the flexibility to add larger memory capacities beyond what is available in the microcontroller itself. This is particularly important for applications that require extensive data storage, such as high-resolution graphics, multimedia processing, or large databases. It allows for easy expansion or upgrades of the memory capacity without changing the microcontroller.

This scalability is advantageous for applications that may require future enhancements or the addition of new features, enabling the system to adapt to changing needs. Therefore, increased memory capacity, and high flexibility and scalability are major factors that are anticipated to stimulate the growth of the segment during the estimated time period.

By End-User Analysis

Consumer electronics is the leading segment

Consumer electronics are expected to dominate the microcontroller market with a revenue share of 35% throughout the forecast period. Consumer electronics are becoming more advanced and feature-rich. Microcontrollers play a crucial role in powering these devices and enabling their functionality. From smartphones and tablets to smart TVs, wearable devices, home appliances, gaming consoles, and IoT devices, microcontrollers are at the heart of their operations.

Energy efficiency is a crucial consideration in consumer electronics. Microcontrollers are designed to optimize power consumption, ensuring longer battery life in portable devices and reduced energy usage in household appliances. This makes them essential for meeting the growing consumer demand for eco-friendly and energy-efficient products. Therefore, energy efficiency offered by microcontrollers is a major factor driving the segment growth over the forecast period.

Also, the automotive segment is likely to witness high growth during the projection period. ADAS technologies, such as collision avoidance, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, parking assistance, etc., rely on microcontrollers for real-time data processing, sensor fusion, and decision-making algorithms. The demand for microcontrollers in the automotive sector is driven by the rising adoption of these safety and convenience features.

Microcontroller Key Market Segments

Product Type

• 8-Bit
• 16-Bit
• 32-Bit

Memory

• Embedded Memory Microcontroller
• External Memory Microcontroller

End-User

• Consumer Electronics
• Automotive
• Healthcare
• Aerospace & Defense
• Other End-Users

Growth Opportunity

Rising demand for electric vehicles

Globally, the sale of electric vehicles has tremendously increased in recent years. Sales of plug-in electric light vehicles were expected to reach 10.2 million in 2022, as per Statista, a significant increase in the past ten years. 10,5 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)and brand-new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were delivered in total during 2022, up +55% from 2021.

The shift toward EVs and hybrid vehicles has led to a huge surge in demand for microcontrollers. EVs require sophisticated control systems to manage power distribution, battery management, motor control, and charging systems, all of which rely on microcontrollers. Thus, the rise in demand for EVs is expected to provide new growth opportunities for the microcontroller market in the upcoming time period.

Latest Trends

Miniaturization and Integration

Microcontrollers are being designed to occupy smaller form factors and offer increased integration of peripherals. This trend allows for more compact designs, reduces the bill of materials, and enables the development of smaller, portable, and wearable devices. Thus, miniaturization and integration is likely to boost the growth of the microcontroller market in the upcoming time period.

New technological advancements

As the demand for edge computing and intelligent devices grows, microcontrollers are being equipped with machine learning capabilities. Some microcontrollers have built-in hardware accelerators for running neural networks, enabling tasks such as image recognition and natural language processing on the device itself. Such technological advancements are likely to drive the demand for microcontrollers during the projection period.

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific leads the market by holding a major revenue share in the account

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to hold the largest share of 55% in the market during the projected time period. A substantial center for the production of semiconductors and semiconductor-based technology has evolved in the Asia Pacific region. Some of the major manufacturers of electronics and automobiles are based in this area. Thus, a variety of microcontroller applications in automotive, industrial automation, pharmaceutical, consumer electronics, robotics, etc. make a substantial contribution to the field.

Leading contract semiconductor producers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are found throughout APAC. More than 70% of the microcontrollers sold by major market players including Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, etc. are produced by TSMC. Foxconn, MediaTek, Qualcomm, and other local manufacturers all play a vital role in the expansion of the area. Therefore, the high production of semiconductors and the presence of key market players are likely to contribute to the microcontroller market growth over the forecast period.

Moreover, the North American region is likely to witness high growth during the estimated time period. North America is one of the world’s main car manufacturing hubs. The region’s economic prosperity has led to a tremendous rise in passenger automobile and commercial vehicle sales. According to the American Automotive Policy Council 2022, American automakers actively spend on R&D operations, and automotive microcontrollers are impacting the automobile industry by pushing demand for different types of microcontrollers as vehicle production increases.

Moreover, the development of the latest products in the automation industry, instrumentation and process control, healthcare industry, etc. is propelling the demand for microcontrollers in the region. Thus, the growing automation industry, along with the development of new products are key factors driving the microcontroller market growth during the projection period.

Key Regions and Countries

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Italy
  • Russia
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• APAC
  • China
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • India
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of South America
• MEA
  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Israel
  • Rest of MEA

Market Share & Key Players Analysis:

The global Microcontroller market is highly competitive and consists of several key market players who have a prominent presence. The market is growing at a high rate due to the rise in demand for microcontrollers from several sectors. Furthermore, key technological advancements, the launch of new products, new strategic agreements, mergers, and acquisitions by key market players are likely to contribute to the market growth during the upcoming time period.

Top Key Players in Global Microcontroller Market

• Microchip Technology Inc.
• NXP Semiconductors
• Infineon Technologies AG
• Texas Instruments Incorporated
• Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
• STMicroelectronics
• Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation
• Analog Devices, Inc.
• Zilog, Inc.
• Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited
• Other Key Players

Recent Developments:

• In November 2022, REE Automotive Ltd. and Infineon Technologies AG, joined forces to develop the EV REE modular platform. This platform is built with adaptability and versatility in mind, acting as the foundation for different electric vehicles such as robotaxis, commercial vans, electric passenger shuttles etc. This collaborative venture aims to develop a novel solution that can be used in a variety of electric vehicles while providing improved efficiency and usefulness.
• In May 2022, the i. MX RT1180 crossover microcontroller was unveiled by NXP Semiconductors. The ‘Multi-Protocol i. MX RT crossover microcontroller unifies Industrial IoT Communication with an inbuilt time-specific networking switch. It represents the first microcontroller with a Gb TSN switch, enabling time-sensitive and real-time communications while supporting a variety of communications protocols.

Report Scope: