Applied Materials opens $5 billion shared chip research center

Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, on October 12, bringing chipmakers, equipment suppliers and university researchers into a shared semiconductor development facility. Founding partners include TSMC, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology and SK hynix. Chipmakers place engineers alongside Applied's scientists and equipment teams to develop materials, tools and manufacturing processes in parallel. Applied says the arrangement lets customers shape equipment earlier and gives it visibility into their future technology needs. The 600,000-square-foot facility develops technologies three to four generations ahead of current production; it does not manufacture chips for consumer devices or data centers.