2023 Edge Computing Market Research Report – Industry Overview, Chain Analysis, and Standards

The report highlights that edge computing has entered a steady growth phase, with an increasingly diversified set of service providers and expanding market size. IDC data shows the Chinese edge computing server market reached $3.31 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a 22.2% CAGR through 2025, while Sullivan forecasts a market value of ¥250.9 billion by 2027 (36.1% CAGR).

Edge computing emerged to meet real‑time computing, communication, and security demands in digital transformation. The industry chain consists of chip manufacturers, algorithm providers, hardware vendors, and solution integrators. Chip makers develop compute chips for edge, cloud, and device tiers, including accelerators and software development platforms.

Key AI chip players include Cambricon (Edge‑side AI accelerator cards), Rockchip (RK3588), Dianlian Technology (Goldwasser‑L/UL inference cards), and CloudWalk (DeepEdge10). International vendors such as NVIDIA (Jetson) and others also supply edge devices.

Algorithm firms focus on computer‑vision models, offering generic or customized solutions and sometimes operating algorithm marketplaces or training‑inference platforms.

Hardware vendors are enriching edge product forms, delivering full‑stack solutions from chips to complete machines, while solution providers tailor software or integrated hardware‑software offerings for specific industries.

AI‑related edge computing trends include the need for low‑power, low‑latency inference, real‑time control, and secure data handling. RISC‑V architectures are highlighted for their open, modular design suitable for IoT edge scenarios.

Solution providers span digital‑transformation specialists (e.g., Danghong, Wanwu Cloud, Simou) and ICT giants (Huawei, China Telecom, China Unicom). They develop edge platforms that unify compute, storage, and networking resources, supporting interoperability, scalability, extensibility, and security.

Cloud vendors extend public‑cloud services to the edge, contributing to open‑source ecosystems such as OpenStack Edge Group, StarlingX, Kubernetes, OpenNess, EdgeGallery, Baidu’s DuEdge, and Alibaba Cloud’s OpenYurt, aiming for cloud‑native edge deployments.

Vertical solution providers focus on industry‑specific use cases, including logistics (Shunfeng, Cainiao), power (Dianlian), autonomous driving (Baidu Apollo), and UAVs (DJI).

Industry standards are rapidly evolving. China has issued standards covering edge devices, software, security, and sector‑specific guidelines for highways, industrial IoT, power, and smart home. Notable documents include "Edge One‑Box Capability Requirements" parts 1 and 2, "Edge Node Management Solution Requirements", and the national "Information Security Technology – Edge Computing Security Technical Requirements" (2023). These standards address hardware specifications, virtualization, cloud‑edge management, security models, and application requirements.

Overall, the edge computing sector is in an early explosive stage with blurred business boundaries, requiring vendors to align with diverse scenarios, ensure compatibility, and possess strong engineering capabilities to deliver integrated edge solutions.