Applied Materials spends $5 billion to build a chip R&D center, aiming to halve AI chip development cycles.

BlockBeats news, October 14: Applied Materials, the world's largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer, officially unveiled the EPIC semiconductor R&D center. The project is located in Sunnyvale, California, with a total investment expected to reach $5 billion, aiming to accelerate innovation in advanced chip technology in the AI era.

The EPIC center covers approximately 600,000 square feet. Industry giants such as Intel, TSMC, Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung will station research teams there to collaborate with Applied Materials engineers on R&D and gain early access to the latest semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Applied Materials stated that the center is expected to shorten the cycle from conceptual R&D to commercialization of next-generation chip architectures from the usual 10 to 12 years to as fast as 6 years.

The center is primarily used for R&D rather than mass chip production. In the short term, it does not mean that U.S. chip manufacturing capacity will directly return, but it is expected to strengthen Silicon Valley's competitiveness in advanced semiconductors and AI chips.

Applied Materials' U.S. stock closed down 2.88% on Tuesday, turned positive after hours, and is now up 0.74%, with its market capitalization recovering to $8.3 billion.