Bergur Thormundsson
Research expert covering technology in the Nordics, AI and smart cities
Nordic Semiconductor - statistics & facts
Nordic Semiconductor is one of Norway’s finest additions to the ever-more competitive semiconductor market. The company develops hardware products for a wide variety of wireless technologies, protocols, and standards. The company has been achieving considerable gain in value as the global demand for all types of semiconductors has risen over the last year. The global semiconductor market is immense, with sales reaching over 530 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, though that is a dip compared to the market revenues of nearly 600 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 and 2022.
Healthcare is growing in importance in an aging world
Nordic Semiconductor garners most of its revenue from its consumer tech segment, and second to that is its industrial technology. These segments mostly consist of ultra-low energy cellular technologies and smart home technologies. These segments account for over 75 percent of the firm’s revenue. The company has grown considerably in the last few years, having increased its business profit worldwide to around 300 million U.S. dollars from 2021 to 2023. Healthcare technology, specifically Bluetooth connected medical devices and the like, have taken an increasingly important seat in the firm's inventory. In 2023 the share of healthcare doubled while both consumer and industrial tech saw a decline in revenue share. This likely illustrates the growing importance of technology to care facilities and medical aid.People and sustainability
Nordic Semiconductor houses most of its operations in the Nordics. Of the nearly 1,500 employees working with the firm, some 620 operate out of Norway. Another significant portion operates out of the rest of Europe, split between Finland, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The company has an advantage over many of its other European competitors, and indeed global competitors, when it comes to sustainability. This it achieves by housing its main foundries in energy-green Norway. Further to this, many of the company’s platforms and prototypes are produced from recycled plastics, reducing waste and contributing to a more sustainable environment.Looming large in a niche field
Nordic Semiconductor is a large player in the field of Bluetooth technologies. Its second largest rival, Renesas, has barely half the revenue of Nordic Semiconductor, with other competitor firms being even smaller. The Norwegian firm has grown considerably in the last few years on nearly many metrics, both in revenue and employees. The continued need for more efficiency in the care sector as well as the ongoing digitalization of home and city life mean that the company is likely to continue to grow in the coming years.
