Technology
Tech Timeline: How We Got to the iPhone Era
Important note: click below image to expand to full screen for a more readable size.
Tech Timeline: How We Got to the iPhone Era
Important note: click the image above to expand to full screen for a more readable size.
The iPhone is iconic as the culmination of all modern technology and engineering in one instrument. Although taken for granted sometimes, all smartphones are incredible and sophisticated devices consisting of many different and unique parts. Not only do they facilitate modern communication, but they have powerful computation ability, GPS, gyroscopes, interactive touchscreens, multiple cameras, and impressive battery lives.
All these very different technologies have different paths of how they came to be, and this infographic explains how we got to this iPhone Era of technology history. Over centuries mathematicians, chemists, engineers, and other scientists have devoted their entire lives to move incrementally in their field towards today’s tech.
Not for the faint of heart, everything here is tracked all the way back to ancient times.
Original graphic from: Quartsoft
Other VC Posts
Technology
Ranked: Semiconductor Companies by Industry Revenue Share
Nvidia is coming for Intel’s crown. Samsung is losing ground. AI is transforming the space. We break down revenue for semiconductor companies.
Semiconductor Companies by Industry Revenue Share
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Did you know that some computer chips are now retailing for the price of a new BMW?
As computers invade nearly every sphere of life, so too have the chips that power them, raising the revenues of the businesses dedicated to designing them.
But how did various chipmakers measure against each other last year?
We rank the biggest semiconductor companies by their percentage share of the industry’s revenues in 2023, using data from Omdia research.
Which Chip Company Made the Most Money in 2023?
Market leader and industry-defining veteran Intel still holds the crown for the most revenue in the sector, crossing $50 billion in 2023, or 10% of the broader industry’s topline.
All is not well at Intel, however, with the company’s stock price down over 20% year-to-date after it revealed billion-dollar losses in its foundry business.
Rank | Company | 2023 Revenue | % of Industry Revenue |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Intel | $51B | 9.4% |
2 | NVIDIA | $49B | 9.0% |
3 | Samsung Electronics | $44B | 8.1% |
4 | Qualcomm | $31B | 5.7% |
5 | Broadcom | $28B | 5.2% |
6 | SK Hynix | $24B | 4.4% |
7 | AMD | $22B | 4.1% |
8 | Apple | $19B | 3.4% |
9 | Infineon Tech | $17B | 3.2% |
10 | STMicroelectronics | $17B | 3.2% |
11 | Texas Instruments | $17B | 3.1% |
12 | Micron Technology | $16B | 2.9% |
13 | MediaTek | $14B | 2.6% |
14 | NXP | $13B | 2.4% |
15 | Analog Devices | $12B | 2.2% |
16 | Renesas Electronics Corporation | $11B | 1.9% |
17 | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | $10B | 1.9% |
18 | Microchip Technology | $8B | 1.5% |
19 | Onsemi | $8B | 1.4% |
20 | KIOXIA Corporation | $7B | 1.3% |
N/A | Others | $126B | 23.2% |
N/A | Total | $545B | 100% |
Note: Figures are rounded. Totals and percentages may not sum to 100.
Meanwhile, Nvidia is very close to overtaking Intel, after declaring $49 billion of topline revenue for 2023. This is more than double its 2022 revenue ($21 billion), increasing its share of industry revenues to 9%.
Nvidia’s meteoric rise has gotten a huge thumbs-up from investors. It became a trillion dollar stock last year, and broke the single-day gain record for market capitalization this year.
Other chipmakers haven’t been as successful. Out of the top 20 semiconductor companies by revenue, 12 did not match their 2022 revenues, including big names like Intel, Samsung, and AMD.
The Many Different Types of Chipmakers
All of these companies may belong to the same industry, but they don’t focus on the same niche.
According to Investopedia, there are four major types of chips, depending on their functionality: microprocessors, memory chips, standard chips, and complex systems on a chip.
Nvidia’s core business was once GPUs for computers (graphics processing units), but in recent years this has drastically shifted towards microprocessors for analytics and AI.
These specialized chips seem to be where the majority of growth is occurring within the sector. For example, companies that are largely in the memory segment—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology—saw peak revenues in the mid-2010s.
-
Green2 weeks ago
Ranked: Top Countries by Total Forest Loss Since 2001
-
Travel2 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Top Flight Routes, by Revenue
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Ranked: Semiconductor Companies by Industry Revenue Share
-
Money2 weeks ago
Which States Have the Highest Minimum Wage in America?
-
Real Estate2 weeks ago
Ranked: The Most Valuable Housing Markets in America
-
Markets2 weeks ago
Charted: Big Four Market Share by S&P 500 Audits
-
AI2 weeks ago
The Stock Performance of U.S. Chipmakers So Far in 2024
-
Automotive2 weeks ago
Almost Every EV Stock is Down After Q1 2024