GenAI at the core of $372 billion data center processor revolution

Yole Group released its highly anticipated analyses: Generative AI – Computing & AI for Data Centers 2025, Status of the Processor Industry 2025, and the Q2 2025 edition of the Processor Market Monitor.

Following the explosion in generative AI applications, demand for high-performance computing has surged, reshaping processor markets. The total data center processor market reached $147 billion in 2024, led by GPUs, and is projected to grow to $372 billion by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing technology segments of the decade. The rise of Generative AI is widespread, including at the edge in embedded devices, as analyzed in the Status of the Processor Industry report.

Adrien Sanchez, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Computing & Software at Yole Group, said: "The rise of Generative AI is redefining compute architectures. Our research has identified a shift away from general-purpose processors toward custom, AI-optimized silicon, across GPUs, ASICs, CPUs, DPUs, and more. The Generative AI report provides the clearest roadmap yet of what’s next."

GPUs and AI ASICs lead the charge
Data center GPU market surged to $101 billion in 2024, propelled by unprecedented demand for training large AI models and scaling inference workloads. With a robust +90% market share, the leading company Nvidia remains the dominant player, leveraging its full-stack approach. Its Blackwell platform, released in 2025, along with the upcoming Rubin platform expected in 2026, are poised to extend this lead.

By 2030, server GPU revenues are forecasted to exceed $200 billion, while AI ASICs peaked at $9 billion in 2024 and are expected to see double-digit annual growth through 2030, making them the second-largest contributor to the processor landscape. AI ASICs are favored by hyperscalers for cost-effective, high-efficiency inference, and are tightly co-developed with partners such as Broadcom, Marvell, GUC, Alchip, and MediaTek.

Hugo Antoine, Technology & Market Analyst, Computing & Software at Yole Group, added: "Hyperscalers are developing their own AI ASICs because Nvidia’s margin on server GPUs is over 85%, something never seen before in the processor industry. With AI ASICs, they’re able to bring their costs down by an order of magnitude!"

Custom silicon on the rise
The CPU server market, led by Intel and AMD, which together hold 80% of the market, remains essential for general-purpose compute but is under pressure. Arm-based CPUs from hyperscalers and new players are gaining momentum, notably Amazon’s Graviton, Google’s Axion, and Nvidia’s Grace, with claimed major power-efficiency advantages. The CPU market is projected to reach $35.6 billion by 2030.

Smaller segments are also evolving, as detailed in the Generative AI 2025 report from Yole Group:

* Server FPGAs: $1.5 billion by 2030,
* DPUs and network ASICs: $17.7 billion by 2030,
* Crypto ASICs: $4.2 billion by 2030, influenced by shifts in mining dynamics.

Yole Group’s analysts point to consolidation and mergers and acquisitions as key enablers of this compute evolution. In 2024 alone, Yole Group’s analysts have identified the following significant announcements:

* SoftBank acquired Graphcore,
* AWS invested $700 million in Tenstorrent,
* Rebellions and Sapeon merged in South Korea,
* Meta attempted, but failed to acquire Furiosa for $800 million.

These developments highlight the scarcity of competitive AI chip teams and the rising value of silicon expertise in AI infrastructure.

Geopolitics and AI sovereignty shape semiconductor landscape
As AI becomes an essential asset in global digital strategy, governments are investing in dedicated AI data centers to ensure national compute capability. In parallel, the U.S. government continues to enforce strict export controls, which divide the world into regulatory tiers and limit China’s access to cutting-edge AI chips.

In response, the Chinese authorities are accelerating China’s domestic semiconductor efforts, while Nvidia develops export-compliant chips. Meanwhile, Huawei is ramping up its CPU and AI ASIC development, underlining the strategic urgency around self-sufficiency in AI compute.

“Strategic compute becomes the heart of AI infrastructure,” affirms Adrien Sanchez from Yole Group.

Key takeaways:

* Global data center processor market to grow from $147 billion in 2024 to $372 billion by 2030, reflecting the rapid expansion of Generative AI.
* Server GPU market is driving growth, surging to $101 billion in 2024, and is expected to more than double by 2030; AI ASICs peaked at $9 billion in 2024 and are expected to see double-digit annual growth through 2030.
* Shift to custom silicon: Hyperscalers like Google, AWS, and Huawei invest heavily in in-house chips (TPUs, Trainium, Ascend).
* Server CPU market to reach $35.6 billion by 2030, as Intel and AMD face increasing pressure from arm-based alternatives.
* Nvidia remains dominant in GPUs with a +90% market share, driven by the CUDA ecosystem, rack-scale solutions, and scale-up technology.
* Strategic sovereignty emerges as a key driver, with countries investing in local AI compute infrastructure amid export controls and rising geopolitical tensions.