Applied Materials Partners with SK Hynix and Micron to Develop Memory Chips

On Tuesday Eastern Time, Applied Materials announced it has partnered with memory chip companies Micron Technology and SK Hynix to jointly develop next-generation AI memory chips.

Applied Materials announced that Micron and SK Hynix will serve as founding partners in its research center, jointly developing chips under the “Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization” (EPIC) Center initiative.

The company stated that its EPIC Center represents a $5 billion semiconductor equipment R&D investment plan, with capital expenditures expected to gradually increase to this amount as customer projects progress.

Following its collaboration with Micron, Applied Materials stated its strategic focus will advance DRAM, HBM, and NAND technologies. This partnership will integrate expertise from Applied Materials' EPIC Center with innovations from Micron's Boise, Idaho-based Innovation Center.

Meanwhile, the collaboration with SK Hynix will concentrate on enhancing materials for memory chips, process integration, and 3D advanced packaging technologies for next-generation DRAM and HBM. These efforts will be conducted at the EPIC Center.