Applied Materials has unveiled an Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization Center in Silicon Valley, a US$5 billion investment intended to support semiconductor equipment and process research.
The company described the EPIC Center as a 600,000-square-foot facility bringing chipmakers, equipment manufacturers and university researchers together to accelerate the development of new semiconductor technologies.
Applied Materials identified TSMC, Intel, Samsung, Micron and SK hynix among founding partners. Other companies cited in the announcement include Broadcom, Advantest, SCREEN, KIOXIA and Besi.
The project is aimed at reducing the time between research breakthroughs and high-volume chip manufacturing, as growing AI demand raises performance and efficiency requirements. Its anticipated benefits are company expectations, not independently verified development outcomes.
The facility is in the United States, but several announced participants are headquartered in Asia, giving the project a direct connection to the region’s semiconductor industry.