Applied Materials forges partnerships with Micron and SK Hynix for AI memory chips

March 10 (Reuters) – Applied Materials said on Tuesday it has partnered with memory chip companies Micron Technology and SK Hynix to develop next-generation chips that are crucial for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

Micron and SK Hynix will serve as founding partners at Applied Materials’ research center to develop the chips, called Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization, or EPIC, Center.

Applied Materials said its EPIC Center represents a planned $5 billion investment in semiconductor equipment research and development, with capital spending anticipated to scale over time to that amount as customer projects begin.

The announcements come as rapid build-out of AI infrastructure by U.S. tech firms such as OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft drives demand for memory chips, tightening supply and pushing up prices.

South Korea’s Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron — the world’s three largest producers of memory chips — have all said they were struggling to keep up with demand.

Big Tech firms are expected to spend at least $630 billion to build AI infrastructure this year.

With Micron, Applied Materials’ partnership will focus on advancing DRAM, high-bandwidth memory and NAND, combining expertise from Applied’s EPIC Center and Micron’s innovation hub in Boise, Idaho.

The partnership with SK Hynix will focus on improving materials for memory chips, process integration and 3D advanced packaging for next-generation DRAM and HBM at the EPIC Center.

In 2023, Applied Materials had said it would spend up to $4 billion on the research center, which it had then estimated to come online in 2026.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)