Non-Volatile Memory Market

Market Overview

The global non-volatile memory market was valued at USD 73.9 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 180.04 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 10.40% during the forecast period (2023-2031). A type of computer memory known as non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage can keep recorded data even when the power is turned off. Comparatively, volatile memory requires ongoing management to preserve data. Flash memory storage, such as NAND flash and solid-state drives are examples of non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory is typically used to refer to storage in semiconductor memory chips that store data in floating-gate memory cells made up of floating-gate MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors) (SSD). Other types of non-volatile memory include ferroelectric RAM, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM (erasable programmable ROM) and EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM), hard disc drives, optical discs, floppy discs, and magnetic tape, as well as early computer storage techniques like punched tape and cards.

Market Dynamics

Global Non-Volatile Memory Market Drivers

Increasing Demand for Non-Volatile Memory in Connected and Wearable Devices

The need for non-volatile memory is rising as the number of wearables and connected devices increases globally. In North America and Asia-Pacific, wearables are becoming more and more common. Statistics predicting that 25% of American adults would use a wearable device by 2022 illustrate the expansion of the wearables sector in the North American region. People who live in China, Thailand, and Vietnam already have a high rate of wearable device ownership in the Asia-Pacific region. Cisco Systems predicted that in 2022, linked wearables utilized in North America and the Asia-Pacific region would collectively make up about 70% of all wearable 5G connections globally.

One of the fastest-growing IoT product categories is wearable electronics and portable medical equipment. Devices like smartwatches, activity trackers, glucose meters, and blood pressure monitors help people stay active and healthy. These gadgets gather crucial fitness data thanks to a potent combination of computation, sense, storage, and connected technology. Flash is perfect for some IoT applications because it can easily store code and configuration data and is accessible in high densities. Despite having byte and page write functionality, it requires the sector to wipe, making it unlikely to be used in portable medical and fitness devices that require a lot of data logging.

Global Non-Volatile Memory Market Restraint

Lack of Write Endurance

Non-volatile memory (NVM)-based storage devices have a number of benefits, including reduced noise, quick PC startup, quick read/write performance, and enhanced shock resistance. The market has rapidly expanded due to a wider variety of larger capacity non-volatile memories being employed in the broader range of devices. On the other hand, read/write endurance and data retention issues with non-volatile memories on the market are frequently to blame. The writing speed of the storage device is referred to as the endurance rate. The current poor endurance rate of NVM memory impacts the data transmission rate of NVM devices. Flash and phase-change memories (PCMs) are two examples of NVMs with low durability.

NoR and NAND flash memories are utilized as non-volatile storage mediums in business and consumer applications. The limited endurance of each cell in such memories is a significant limitation. Each cell can only undergo so many reprogramming and erasing cycles before it becomes useless.

Global Non-Volatile Memory Market Opportunities

Growing Demand for Enterprise Storage Applications

The demand for memory that can handle vast volumes of data efficiently and affordably has increased due to rapid technological advancements and massive data generation. Nearly all of these requirements of the businesses are satisfied by the next-generation memory. The end-user industries, like BFSI, are aggressively investing in IoT technologies and profiting immensely from them. Through the collection and analysis of consumer behavior data, IoT has the potential to transform the BFSI industry completely. Big data has been increasingly used in the BFSI to guide smarter investment choices with reliable returns. A significant amount of data is being produced by the growing number of connected devices, and it is best kept on the cloud. By 2030, 500 billion devices are anticipated to be online, according to Cisco estimates. 

Regional Analysis

The global non-volatile memory market is divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Asia-Pacific Dominates the Global Market

Asia-Pacific is the most significant revenue contributor and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.30% during the forecast period. Due to a rise in demand for online entertainment, telecommuting, and video and phone communication services, China has been building new infrastructure, including data centers. Building massive big data centers in the nation are becoming increasingly significant due to the rapid development of the digital economy. This has prompted non-volatile memory usage in these data centers to increase, which helps decrease downtime brought on by a power outage or a system crash incident and hence offers significant financial value. Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. Ltd. (YMTC), one of China's top memory businesses, joined the NAND market and aggressively entered the flash memory industry.

North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.45% during the forecast period. The United States needs more effective processing systems due to technology's continuously evolving nature and the enormous data collection rate across all industries. Another high-priority need for non-volatile, dense, and energy-efficient memory has grown with the introduction of mobile and low-power devices, high-end data centers, and massive on-chip caches. About 2,670 data centers are located in the US, according to Cloudscene. The data center has emerged as the new computing unit. Data processing units (DPUs), which can combine CPUs, GPUs, and DPUs into a single utterly programmable computing unit, are a crucial component of contemporary and secure accelerated data centers.

Small and medium-sized businesses in the UK demand data centers since they need more funds to establish internal IT departments. Based on projections from the UK government's National Statistics, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were expected to make up around 52% of the GDP by 2021, totaling GBP 2.3 trillion, which affected the data center industry. Despite a poor start in 2020, enterprise colocation demand improved in the year's second half, according to the JLL Data Centers Report released in March 2021. In London, demand climbed by 72%, totaling 87 MW for the entire year. Infrastructure for data centers has been receiving more investments around the nation. For example, Infratil Limited, a worldwide infrastructure company, decided to spend up to GBP 120–130 million on Kao Data, the top UK developer and operator of cutting-edge data centers, in October 2021.

In Latin America, the demand for data centers is driven by several important factors, including the growth of cloud computing, the penetration of foreign cloud vendors, government regulations for local data security, and domestic investment by domestic players. These factors may positively affect non-volatile memory solutions as data centers rely heavily on them for operational efficiency. Additionally, the NVM market is driven by the automobile sector, which has pressured the government to establish a need for ADAS systems and electrified vehicles in South Africa. Furthermore, to make electric cars more accessible, Nissan and BMW have been pressuring the South African government to lower the import duty.

Segmental Analysis

The global non-volatile memory market is segmented by type and end-user industry.

Based on type, the global market is bifurcated into traditional non-volatile memory and next-generation non-volatile memory.

The traditional non-volatile memory segment is the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.50% during the forecast period. The use of flash memory in devices increased along with the penetration of consumer electronics. Laptops, GPS, electronic musical instruments, digital cameras, cell phones, and many other devices use this memory type. Additionally, providers of data center solutions have widely embraced it. Data center demand is rising exponentially along with the adoption of cloud technologies. Compared to other types of memory, EEPROM's market share is in the single digits, making it a niche product. This type can store very modest amounts of data and enables the erasure and reprogramming of individual bytes. HDD, FeRAM, and FeFET are among the memory types that make up the other memory type section.

Magnetic charges are used in MRAM, a type of non-volatile RAM, to store data. It differs from SRAM and DRAM, which hold data using electric bills. MRAM can retain data even when the power is switched off. Data is stored as an electric charge in conventional memory types. MRAM, on the other hand, stores information in magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) memory cells. FRAM, random-access memory with a similar design to DRAM, achieves non-volatility by using a ferroelectric layer rather than a dielectric layer. It is a non-volatile memory that can last forever. It is one of the increasing numbers of non-volatile random-access memory alternatives that provide flash memory features. ReRAM is a non-volatile storage that alters the resistance of a solid dielectric material that has been carefully designed.

Based on the end-user industry, the global market is bifurcated into consumer electronics, retail, IT and telecom, healthcare, and others.

The IT and telecom segment owns the highest market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.60% during the forecast period. Growing companies have necessitated the adoption of enterprise storage solutions by a wide swath of the IT industry. To accommodate growing data volumes, businesses are increasingly turning to more sophisticated forms of storage, which the advent of said technology has spurred on. As the number of data centers increases, the demand for storage space increases. Better memory technologies are required to keep up with the storage demands in these businesses as the necessity keeps growing. In contrast to conventional memory technologies, which have limits because of their antiquated architecture and higher power consumption, telecommunications firms use cutting-edge and high-end memory technology to offer more affordable and quick memory solutions. 

Digital memory has been a critical component of contemporary electronic technology. The extensive integration of memory facilitated cost-effectiveness. By storing more data at a lower cost than the expensive to make silicon chips used by popular consumer electronic gadgets, such as digital cameras, cell phones, notebooks, tablets, etc., new memory technologies have increased the potential of memory. Many businesses, like Nantero, created high-density non-volatile memory, also known as NRAM. It is tremendously quick, gives enormous amounts of storage in a tiny area, and uses minimal power. Consumer electronics manufacturers can create cutting-edge new consumer products with NRAM from Nantero.

Modern healthcare is heavily reliant on technological breakthroughs. Brilliant minds in healthcare and technology are developing new technologies powered by AI, ML, and deep learning. As intelligence advances, knowledge and understanding are being sharpened to enhance healthcare delivery to patients, populations, practitioners, and providers. In this context, the amount of data generated in the healthcare industry has significantly increased. The use of healthcare systems in North America and Europe is growing due to an aging population, which is one major cause. On a technical level, new, more significant file types are being introduced due to developments in genomic research and medical imaging. The volume and complexity of the data created in the healthcare industry present challenges for traditional data storage systems. Healthcare firms are looking for high-end and next-generation storage to manage data expansion.

Other end-user sectors, such as BFSI, education, aerospace, car, etc., have a significant potential for attaining a sizable share in the non-volatile memory market in addition to the end-user industries already covered as part of the study. The BFSI sector's surrounding digital ecosystem is developing quickly. Players in this market are under pressure to alter their product lineups to meet consumers' shifting needs. The banking industry's integration of advanced analytical capabilities into business processes, which enables real-time process, service, and product improvement, has increased the demand for next-generation memory. Therefore, banks rely on next-generation technologies to accomplish their goals and deal with the obstacles presented by the current industry.

Recent Developments

• May 2022- Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation and Japan Semiconductor Corporation created an analog automotive application platform with an integrated non-volatile memory (eNVM). The 0.13-micron generation analog platform, applied to analog integrated circuits (ICs), offers, according to rated voltage, performance, reliability, and cost, an optimum mix of techniques and devices for automotive analog circuits and eNVM on a single chip.
• April 2022- A new computer system that uses non-volatile memory as its main program memory was developed, according to researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The new design, dubbed LightPC, enables switching on and off in the middle of an operation without causing data loss, claims the business. Additionally, up to eight times more memory was possible when employing non-volatile memory.