CIS market set to reach $31.5bn by 2026

New research from Yole Développement suggests that the CMOS Image sensor industry will be worth over $31bn by 2026 having grown by a robust 7.3% in 2020, to reach $20.7bn.

The CIS industry currently represents 4.7% of the $440 billion global Semiconductor industry, a share that has stayed unchanged from 2019.Mobile remains the most important application for CIS, representing 68% of market revenues, with security and automotive applications mow emerging with growth in the range of 40% YoY.

Sony remains the biggest CIS player, with a market share of 40%, with Samsung recording a 22% share, Omnivision 11%, and STMicroelectronics 6%. All are focusing on mobile applications either in imaging or sensing applications.

“Until 2019 mobile device cameras were the main growth contributor to the CIS market,” said Yole’s Pierre Cambou, “but, in 2020 this is no longer the case. Computing, automotive and security market applications have now outpaced the growth of mobile device.”

The $20.7 billion CIS industry is still heavily dominated by mobile and consumer applications, representing more than 72% of revenues. Yet, despite the headwinds in 2020, computing, automotive and security have each grown to similar shares, reaching about 8% of CIS revenues, and 23% combined. They had represented 21% in 2019.

In computing, higher demand for laptops and tablets in the COVID-19 context combined with the introduction of sensing cameras, such as 3D and fingerprint, has reversed a downward trend seen in recent years. In automotive and security, the high demand for cameras comes from smart car, smart home, and smart building trends.

According to Yole, the CIS industry should at keep growing at 7.2% CAGR for the five years ahead.

“The CIS industry output stayed close to its structural limit all through the year, and especially in Q3-2020,” added Cambou. “For the full year, the whole industry grew by 7.3% YoY in revenue. While Sony didn’t grow, Samsung grew 13%, OmniVision, Smartsens and SK Hynix grew about 30%, while Galaxycore grew 52% YoY”.