The Rise of AI Era: AI Server Shipments to See Double-Digit Growth This Year

Market research institutions such as Global Market Insights and IDC are optimistic about the growth of dedicated servers, smartphones, and PCs driven by the AI wave.

At the end of December 2022, OpenAI released the ChatGPT chatbot service based on Large Language Models (LLM), igniting the global artificial intelligence (AI) war. Over the past year, several AI companies have emerged, and Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Apple have all expanded their investments in AI. GPUs, capable of efficiently processing large amounts of data, are crucial for accelerating complex AI and machine learning computations, propelling Nvidia, the leading GPU provider, to new heights. Additionally, AI servers, AI PCs, and AI applications on smartphones are all on the verge of being released.

AI servers are specialized computer systems that execute complex AI tasks such as deep learning, machine learning, or data analysis. They are equipped with high-performance processors, GPUs, and dedicated AI accelerators to meet the intensive computing requirements of AI algorithms. They can be divided into AI data, AI training, and AI inference servers.

According to Global Market Insights, the global AI server market size reached $38.3 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% from this year to 2032, reaching $177.4 billion by 2032.

Another research firm, TrendForce, predicts a 2.05% growth in global server shipments this year, reaching 13.65 million units. AI servers account for 12.1% of this total, with all vendors expected to see double-digit growth in AI server shipments this year.

Market.us is even more optimistic, estimating the global AI server market size at $31 billion last year, with 39% of servers used for AI training. The company forecasts a CAGR of 30.3% for the market from this year to 2033, reaching $430 billion by 2033.

Besides the AI servers enterprises or organizations use, consumer devices are also entering the AI era. According to IDC, hardware-supported AI PCs refer to PCs with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that can execute specific AI functions on the device, with an operational capacity below 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS). The next-gen AI PCs should include an NPU with a computing power of 40-60 TOPS and an AI-first operating system. High-end AI PCs with over 60 TOPS computing power are expected to emerge in the next few years. 

AI is not only moving from the cloud to PCs, but will also migrate to smartphones. 

According to Morgan Stanley, as generative AI is embedded into devices, edge AI will bring new features to consumers and drive sales growth for phone manufacturers. Morgan Stanley expects the edge AI trend to boost smartphone sales over the next two years, reversing the slowdown since 2021. They estimate a 3.9% growth in shipments this year and a 4.4% growth next year.