Samsung and Intel tussled at the top of the semiconductor market with both companies tipped to exceed $60 billion in revenue for 2017, IHS Markit announced.

The analyst company said Samsung overtook Intel as the market leader during Q3, reporting revenue growth of 53 per cent year-on-year to $16.5 billion. Intel also showed growth during the quarter, with revenue up 5 per cent year on year to $15.9 billion.

Samsung and Intel continue to fight it out for leadership of a semiconductor market in which a potential Broadcom-Qualcomm merger is waiting in the wings. While a tie-up between the two would see the joint company making ground, it would still remain significantly behind the market leaders in terms of revenue.

Broadcom’s own estimates put the combined company between $10 billion and $19 billion behind Intel and Samsung in annual revenue. The $9 billion range in its estimate is dependent on the clearance of Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP Semiconductors, which is currently going through regulators.

Discussing IHS Markit’s forecast for Intel and Samsung growth, senior analyst Vlad Galabov said: “The long term battle for revenue supremacy within the semiconductor industry continues as the memory market reaches an equilibrium in supply and demand, and as new revenue opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI) and the IoT, including connected devices and self-driving cars continue to emerge.”