asp (average selling price)

Average Selling Price is the **mean revenue per unit** across all chips sold in a product line or category. ASP is a critical business metric that determines revenue and profitability for semiconductor companies. **Why ASP Matters** **Revenue** = ASP × Volume. A company can grow revenue by increasing ASP (selling more valuable chips), increasing volume (selling more units), or both. The semiconductor industry constantly balances these two levers. **ASP by Product Category** • **Microprocessors (CPUs)**: $50-500 (consumer), $2,000-15,000 (server/data center) • **GPUs**: $200-1,500 (consumer), $10,000-40,000 (data center AI) • **Memory (DRAM)**: $2-10 per chip, but sold in modules at $20-200 • **Analog/Mixed-Signal**: $0.10-5.00 (high volume, low ASP) • **Automotive chips**: $1-50 (MCUs, sensors, power) • **AI Accelerators**: $10,000-40,000 (NVIDIA H100/H200 class) **ASP Trends** **AI is driving ASP up**: Data center GPUs and AI accelerators have dramatically increased the average ASP of the semiconductor industry. NVIDIA's data center ASP exceeds $10,000 per chip. **Commoditization drives ASP down**: Mature products face price erosion as competition increases and manufacturing costs decline. **Product mix**: Companies manage ASP by shifting product mix toward higher-value, higher-margin products. **ASP vs. Margin** High ASP doesn't always mean high profit. What matters is **ASP minus cost per chip**. A $30,000 GPU with $10,000 in manufacturing cost has better margin than a $1 chip with $0.90 in cost, even though the percentage margins are similar.