The global PCB design software market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9 percent through 2026, and reach $4.75 billion USD in revenues. The key factors driving growth of the global PCB design software market include,

• Focus on minimizing product development time and errors
• Growing complexity of circuits
• Flexibility in design approach
• Cost evaluation before implementation of circuit
• Wide-ranging applications in automotive, medical, and military industries

For a long time, input signals, desired output, and error tolerance created challenges for engineers as physical prototypes were a requirement. The adoption of design software gives engineers the flexibility of simulating the current design and knowing the issues beforehand on a real-time basis. Further, PCB design software offers access to auto-placement, auto-routing, and auto-tuning, making the PCB fabrication a relatively seamless affair.

Cost analysis is a major factor for engineers and with the help of design software, engineers can make an estimate of the total cost while designing a circuit. This not only helps in better planning, but also helps in decision-making on quality of materials to be used and the cost of various components.

Demand for PCB design software is witnessing an uptick owing to its wide-ranging applications in consumer electronics, automotive, medical, and military industry. Consumer electronics is a robustly growing sector, and is estimated to reach $3 trillion USD in revenues by 2020. PCB design software is preferred by manufacturers as it allows designing of products in phases or parts. The consumer electronics industry is the largest end-user of PCB design software, accounting for nearly 29 percent revenue share of the global market, valued at $400 million USD. The pervasive preference for miniaturisation and high-density interconnect (HDI) devices used in consumer products, such as smartphones and wearables, is expected to create sustained demand for PCB design software.

The automotive sector is another key end-user of PCB design software, accounting for $228.5 million USD in revenues in 2016. The popularity of smart cars is anticipated to create strong demand for PCB design software, as integration of IoT and artificial intelligence will be carried out through PCB design software. Medical sector and defense/military sectors are among the other sectors where PCB design software is expected to be used on a large-scale.

The U.S. remains the largest market for PCB design software, accounting for over $433 million USD in revenues in 2015. Other lucrative markets for PCB design software are China and India. Adoption of PCB design software in China and India will be driven by the burgeoning consumer electronics industry in these two countries. According to a report published by Bain and Company, China will produce around 55 percent of global memory, analogue and logic chips by 2020. Leading companies in the PCB design software market, including Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Mentor Graphics Corporation, Zuken Inc., and ANSYS, Inc. are focusing on collaborating with semiconductor manufacturing companies in established markets to consolidate their position.

The information provided in this report is based on Future Market Insights’ report.

Abhishek Budholiya is a tech blogger and digital marketing pro. As a technology and digital branding consultant with Future Market Insights, he offers his analysis on the tech market research landscape, especially when it pertains to the commercial viability of a new breakthrough.