Applied Materials unveils EPIC semiconductor R&D center, with total investment projected to reach $5 billion

Applied Materials unveiled its EPIC semiconductor R&D center on Monday in Sunnyvale, California, with total capital investment expected to reach $5 billion. Intel, TSMC, Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung will station research teams at the center to work with Applied Materials engineers and gain early access to its new equipment. The company says this kind of collaboration can shorten the time it takes to bring next-generation chip architectures from concept to commercialization from 10 to 12 years to as little as 6 years. The center is for research only and will not be used for commercial chip production.