Samsung Electronics is predicted to beat out Intel in the second quarter of this year and become the world's largest semiconductor maker.

Intel, which specializes in CPUs for PCs, has dominated the number position in the semiconductor markets for 24 years. Samsung Electronics officially entered the semiconductor business in 1983.

According to market research firm IC Insights, it is estimated that Intel will make about $14.4 billion in semiconductor sales in the second quarter. On the other hand, it estimated that Samsung will make about $14.94 billion in the same period, an 7.5% increase from the company's reported sales in first quarter.

In the first quarter of last year, Intel's sales were 40% higher than Samsung Electronics' sales. However, Samsung is predicted to beat out Intel in the following year mainly due to increased prices of DRAM and NAND flash memories. IC Insights is estimating that prices of DRAM and NAND will increase by 39% and 25% respectively by end of this year.

Samsung is currently enjoying a 50% DRAM market share and is also holding the 40% share of the NAND flash memories used as storage devices.

Samsung's ts SoC (System on Chip) business, which is used for smartphones and cars, is also growing continuously. Its foundry business, which mainly produces system semiconductors on behalf of other companies, has also a competitive edge, with Qualcomm, NVIDIA and NXP to be in the company's customer list.