Applied Materials Unveils $5 Billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley to Accelerate Semiconductor Innovation for the AI Era

• $5 billio i vestme t c eates the wo ld’s la gest semico ducto equipme t a d p ocess tech ology R&D facility
• Pu pose-built to accele ate the trail f om b eakth ough i ovatio to high-volume ma ufactu i g of ext-ge e atio chipmaki g tech ologies
• Leadi g chipmake s, techniques compa ies, equipme t pa t e s a d esea ch u ive sities have dedicated to develop i facet EPIC

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Utilized Mate ials, I c., the leade i mate ials e gi ee i g fo the semico ducto i mud y, at the moment u veiled its Equipme t a d P ocess I ovatio a d Comme cializatio (EPIC) Ce te , a $5 billio capital i vestme t* to construct the wo ld’s la gest facility devoted to collabo ative semico ducto p ocess tech ology a d ma ufactu i g equipme t R&D. I facet the EPIC Ce te , leadi g chipmake s, techniques compa ies, equipme t pa t e s a d u ive sity esea che s will wo ok facet by facet with Utilized’s scie tists a d e gi ee s to accele ate the tempo of chip i ovatio fo the AI e a.

“As AI i f ast uctu e scales, the dema ds of high-pe fo ma ce computi g a e d ivi g u p ecede ted complexity ac oss the chipmaki g oadmap,” stated Ga y Dicke so , P eside t a d CEO of Utilized Mate ials. “To wi the ace fo AI leade ship, ou i mud y should ethi ok a d e-e gi ee how we collabo ate to develop a d comme cialize the ext ge e atio of semico ducto tech ologies. At EPIC, the wo ld’s leadi g chipmake s, system desig e s, equipme t pa t e s a d esea che s will wo ok facet by facet with ou groups to accele ate the trail f om b eakth ough mate ials i ovatio to high-volume ma ufactu i g faste tha eve befo e.”

Pu pose-Constructed to Accele ate I ovatio a d Comme cializatio

U veiled at the moment at Utilized’s Su yvale, Califo ia, campus, the EPIC Ce te ep ese ts o e of probably the most advanced R&D co st uctio p ojects i the wo ld. The 600,000-squa e-foot st uctu e homes ea ly fou ac es of adva ced clea oom house a d equi ed mo e tha six millio co st uctio hou s to finish. Its fou datio holds e ough co c ete to fill 34 Olympic-sized swimmi g swimming pools, a d its steel- ei fo ced st uctu e holds e ough metal to construct two Eiffel Towe s. Thi ty-fou oof t usses cove the clea ooms, every spa i g ea ly 300 ft i le gth a d weighi g as a lot as 12 faculty buses.

EPIC is desig ed to ei ve t the R&D mannequin the i mud y has elied o fo many years. I the t aditio al mannequin, fou datio al mate ials esea ch happe s i o e e vi o me t, equipme t a d p ocess developme t i a othe , a d p ocess i teg atio a d pilot p oductio i a thi d, with a ca eful ha doff at eve y section. The EPIC Ce te is desig ed to emove these ha doffs, putti g the individuals who i ve t the mate ials, construct the equipme t, a d make the chips togethe i a state-of-the-a t facility pu pose-built fo comme cializatio .

EPIC is fou ded o a easy co victio : the tech ologies the AI e a dema ds a e too advanced a d too co seque tial fo a y o e compa y to i ve t alo e. The EPIC Ce te ope s with a fou di g oste that spa s the AI tech ology stack. Fou di g pa t e s TSMC, I tel, Samsu g Elect o ics, Mic o a d SK hy ix a e joi ed by i ovatio pa t e s B oadcom, Adva take a look at, SCREEN, KIOXIA, a d Besi; a d by esea ch pa t e s A izo a State U ive sity, Re sselae Polytech ic I stitute, Sta fo d U ive sity, UC Be keley, a d UCLA Samueli College of E gi ee i g. Every pa t e b i gs its ow oadmap challe ges a d e gi ee s i to the ability, wo ki g i tight, secu e lea i g cycles alo gside Utilized groups. Ove time, additio al compa ies a d o ga izatio s a e anticipated to joi the EPIC ecosystem.

Leade s f om ma y of the EPIC Ce te pa t e compa ies atte ded the u veili g eve t, getti g a fi st glimpse i facet the ability. The day sta ted with a summit hosted by D . P abu Raja, P eside t of the Semico ducto P oducts G oup at Utilized Mate ials, whe e R&D leade s f om prime semico ducto desig , ma ufactu i g a d equipme t compa ies mentioned key challe ges faci g g owth a d p og ess i the worldwide chip i mud y.

“Mate ials i ovatio has outg ow se ial developme t – at at the moment’s atomic-scale dime sio s, ma y mate ials a d mate ials i te faces behave i e ti ely ew methods, a d maki g them wo ok at i mud y scale dema ds coo di ated developme t a d i teg ated solutio s,” stated D . P abu Raja. “EPIC is the o ly place whe e mate ials, p ocess tech ology a d equipme t will likely be i ovated i pa allel, which i c eases the success ate of ew mate ials a d tech ologies. As a result of ou custome s’ ow e gi ee s assist optimize the tech ology befo e it eve eaches thei facto y, what leaves EPIC a ives on the fab eady to amp to excessive pe fo ma ce a d excessive yield soo e .”

Utilized expects the EPIC ope ati g mannequin to delive etu s o each side of the pa t e ships. Chipmake s gai ea liest entry to ext-ge e atio mate ials a d equipme t, sho te lea i g cycles a d a faste path to quantity p oductio . Utilized gai s visibility ac oss seve al ge e atio s of eme gi g tech ology challe ges, i fo mi g whe e the compa y di ects its R&D i vestme ts to c eate worth fo custome s a d have its techniques a d se vices desig ed i .

Suppo ti g Quotes f om I mud y a d Tutorial Leade s

“Fo th ee many years, TSMC a d Utilized Mate ials have g ow togethe – pushi g the bou da ies of semico ducto tech ology th ough eve y majo t a sitio . Thi ty yea s in the past, the leadi g-edge p oductio ode was 350 a omete s. At the moment, it’s 2 a omete s. Wo ki g ha d-i -ha d with the i mud y, we have now sh u ok featu es 175-fold. As chipmaki g complexity g ows expo e tially, ou pa t e ship is mo e very important tha eve . Beyo d 2 m, collabo ati g with Utilized offers us ea ly entry to the dis uptive equipme t tech ologies that defi e the futu e. This fast-t acks the leap f om R&D to high-volume ma ufactu i g fo the e e gy-efficie t AI a chitectu es of tomo ow – i cludi g ew a chitectu e, low- esista ce wi i g, a d adva ced packagi g. We a e p oud to be a fou di g pa t e of EPIC, accele ati g the i ovatio s that can powe AI f om the info ce te to the sting.” – D . C.C. Wei, Chai ma a d CEO of TSMC

“AI is c eati g a multi-t illio -dolla oppo tu ity fo the semico ducto i mud y. To captu e it, we eed co ti ued i ovatio i t a sisto s, i te co ects a d adva ced packagi g. At I tel, we see a path to mo e tha a t illio t a sisto s i a package deal by 2030. As a chitectu es grow to be mo e advanced a d R&D prices co ti ue to ise, we eed to maneuver faste a d wo ok mo e intently with ou equipme t pa t e s. EPIC offers ou groups the oppo tu ity to wo ok facet by facet with Utilized o mate ials a d p ocess i ovatio – helpi g us accele ate developme t, imp ove R&D efficie cy a d b i g ew tech ologies to ma ket faste .” – Lip-Bu Ta , CEO, I tel

“Information-i te sive AI wo kloads a e d ivi g huge dema d fo high-pe fo ma ce memo y a d sto age, a d i ovatio i mate ials a d p ocess tech ology is a c itical e in a position of ext-ge e atio memo y. As a fou di g pa t e of EPIC, Mic o will wo ok facet by facet with Utilized Mate ials to accele ate i ovatio a d b i g ext-ge e atio memo y tech ologies f om esea ch to high-volume ma ufactu i g at scale.” – Sa jay Meh ot a, Chai ma a d CEO, Mic o Tech ology

“Samsu g takes a e d-to-e d view of AI-e a computi g – ac oss leadi g-edge logic, memo y a d adva ced packagi g. Utilized Mate ials b i gs u iquely b oad p ocess equipme t leade ship ac oss all th ee domai s, a d at EPIC togethe we’ll develop, ite ate a d deploy b eakth ough tech ologies faste tha eve , on the tempo AI scali g dema ds.” – Jaihyuk So g, Chief Tech ology Workplace (CTO) of Gadget Solutio s Divisio , Samsu g Elect o ics

“The defi i g challe ge of AI computi g is movi g knowledge quick e ough to maintain i c easi gly powe ful p ocesso s absolutely utilized, a d meeti g that challe ge equi es memo y with fa g eate ba dwidth, velocity a d capability. At EPIC, SK hy ix a d Utilized will b i g togethe ou leade ship i adva ced memo y with Utilized’s leade ship i mate ials e gi ee i g a d semico ducto ma ufactu i g tech ology so as to add ess majo i flectio s ac oss HBM, DRAM a d NAND, a d accele ate memo y i ovatio fo the AI e a.” – Nohju g Kwak, P eside t a d CEO of SK hy ix

“The ext f o tie of AI will likely be defi ed by how seamlessly the i mud y ca i teg ate huge amou ts of compute, memo y a d co ectivity i to high-pe fo ma ce techniques, a d that depe ds o b eakth ough adva ces i adva ced packagi g. As a i ovatio pa t e at EPIC, B oadcom ca e gage ea lie with Utilized’s fou datio al tech ologies a d ma ufactu i g capabilities, co ecti g futu e system equi eme ts to the packagi g i ovatio s eeded to ealize them a d accele ati g the trail f om co cept to comme cializatio .” – Cha lie Kawwas, Ph.D., P eside t of Semico ducto Solutio s G oup, B oadcom

“Futu e pe fo ma ce imp oveme ts will depe d o adva ced 3D a chitectu es a d hete oge eous i teg atio . As these tech ologies co ve ge, it turns into i c easi gly impo ta t to co ect i sights f om f o t-e d p ocess developme t with these f om back-e d take a look at a d measu eme t. EPIC b eaks dow these t aditio al ba ie s by b i gi g togethe Utilized Mate ials’ leade ship i mate ials e gi ee i g a d p ocess co t ol with Adva take a look at’s leade ship i semico ducto take a look at a d measu eme t, i cludi g capabilities e abled th ough the Adva take a look at I ovatio Ce te . Togethe , we a e helpi g the wo ld’s leadi g semico ducto ma ufactu e s imp ove yield, accele ate p oductio amps, a d b i g ext-ge e atio AI techniques to ma ket faste .” – Doug Lefeve , Rep ese tative Di ecto a d G oup CEO, Adva take a look at Co po atio

“At EPIC, we have now a u ique oppo tu ity to co-optimize the c itical moist a d d y p ocesses behi d ext-ge e atio chip a chitectu es. We ca togethe accele ate the i ovatio s equi ed to maste i c easi gly advanced 3D units a d adva ced packagi g st uctu es. By d ivi g tighte p ocess i teg atio with mate ials e gi ee i g, we ca assist chipmake s u lock highe yields, faste p oductio amps, a d the ma ufactu i g scale equi ed fo the AI futu e.” – Masato Goto, P eside t a d CEO, SCREEN Holdi gs Co., Ltd.

“AI is maki g the wo ld i c easi gly data-d ive , a d futu e b eakth oughs will depe d o memo y, logic, a d i te co ect tech ologies wo ki g seamlessly withi i teg ated techniques. We imagine the EPIC Ce te p ovides a powe ful platfo m fo collabo atio ac oss tech ology domai s. By wo ki g intently with Utilized Mate ials e gi ee s a d othe pa t e s, we ca accele ate the developme t of ext-ge e atio memo y tech ologies.” – Hideshi Miyajima, Ph.D., Ma agi g Govt Workplace a d Chief Tech ology Workplace , KIOXIA Co po atio

“The futu e of AI depe ds ot o ly o mo e powe ful chips, however o the chip-to-chip i te co ects that d ive pe fo ma ce, ba dwidth a d powe efficie cy. Besi a d Utilized ecog ized ea ly that hyb id bo di g could be fou datio al to ext-ge e atio AI techniques, a d by combi i g Besi’s leade ship i p ecisio die-to-wafe bo di g with Utilized’s leade ship i f o t-e d p ocessi g, we a e adva ci g hyb id bo di g tech ology to e in a position futu e high-pe fo ma ce 3D i teg ated units. EPIC exte ds that mannequin of high-velocity co-i ovatio ac oss the ecosystem, accele ati g the tech ologies that can form futu e AI techniques.” – Richa d Blickma , P eside t a d CEO, BE Semico ducto I mud ies (Besi)

“ASU has developed a ve y st o g wo ki g elatio ship with Utilized Mate ials th ough the Mate ials-to-Fab Ce te at ASU Resea ch Pa ok, a d we a e excited to dig deepe i to this pa t e ship on the EPIC Ce te , whe e esea che s, e gi ee s a d ma ufactu e s co ve ge to accele ate daring concepts f om the lab to b eakth oughs i the fab. EPIC may also se ve as a co e sto e fo the semico ducto story t pipeli e a d by wo ki g alo gside Utilized’s scie tists a d e gi ee s, ou stude ts will gai the systems-level pe spective eeded to d ive the futu e of AI i ovatio .” – Michael C ow, P eside t, A izo a State U ive sity

“UC Be keley has helped form mic oelect o ics f om its ea liest days, adva ci g the esea ch a d story t that co ti ue to p opel the semico ducto i mud y, a d ou collabo atio with Utilized Mate ials is a g eat instance of how academia a d i mud y should wo ok togethe to satisfy the size a d oppo tu ity of what’s forward. The EPIC platfo m offers ou esea che s entry to the identical cutti g-edge capabilities utilized by the wo ld’s leadi g chipmake s, withi a ma ufactu i g- eleva t e vi o me t, so concepts ca be examined, efi ed a d t a sfo med a lot faste i to the semico ducto b eakth oughs that can adva ce the f o tie of AI.” – Wealthy Lyo s, Cha cello , UC Be keley

“Ma y of the tech ologies powe i g at the moment’s AI evolutio bega i u ive sity labs yea s, ofte many years, befo e they t a sfo med the wo ld. As computi g dema d i c eases, we should accele ate the tempo at which ew semico ducto mate ials, units a d i teg atio tech ologies transfer f om discove y to deployme t. As a i augu al esea ch pa t e on the EPIC Ce te , RPI’s stude ts a d esea che s gai entry to wo ld-class expe ts a d a di ect pathway to check a d validate educational adva ces i eal-wo ld p oductio e vi o me ts – a powe ful bluep i t fo high-velocity i mud y-academia collabo atio i the AI e a.” – Ma ti Schmidt, P eside t of RPI

“The explosive g owth of AI is pushi g semico ducto tech ology esea che s to fi d ew methods to i c ease e e gy efficie cy of semico ducto chips. Oppo tu ities abou d i discove i g ew mate ials a d i ve ti g ew units. Expe ime tatio dema ds faste cycles of i ovatio a d shut collabo atio ac oss the ecosystem. Beyo d the existi g b oad esea ch e gageme t betwee Sta fo d school a d Utilized Mate ials, the EPIC Ce te p ese ts a additio al oppo tu ity that e ables ou stude ts a d esea che s to e gage di ectly with i mud y-scale instruments a d expe ts, accele ati g discove y whereas gai i g the i mud y- eleva t expe ie ce eeded to steer futu e adva ces i semico ducto ma ufactu i g.” – H.S. Philip Wo g, Willa d R. a d I ez Ke Bell P ofesso i the College of E gi ee i g, Sta fo d U ive sity

“Accele ati g semico ducto i ovatio i the ew e a of AI equi es t a sfo mative collabo atio betwee u ive sities a d i mud y pa t e s mo e tha eve befo e. UCLA has a lo g histo y of pio ee i g semico ducto esea ch a d i ovatio , a d ou collabo atio with Utilized Mate ials on the EPIC Ce te builds o that legacy by b i gi g togethe u ive sity esea ch a d i mud y expe tise to adva ce the chip tech ologies that can defi e the futu e of computi g whereas p epa i g the ext ge e atio of e gi ee s.” – Ah-Hyu g “Alissa” Pa ok, Ro ald a d Vale ie Suga Dea of UCLA Samueli

*Capital spe di g is predicted to scale ove time to app oximately $5 billio  as custome p ojects comme ce.

Fo wa d-Looki g Stateme tsThis p ess elease co tai s fo wa d-looki g stateme ts, i cludi g these ega di g Utilized’s i vestme t a d g owth st ategies, the developme t of ew mate ials a d tech ologies, i mud y outlook a d tech ology equi eme ts, the pla s a d expectatio s fo the EPIC Ce te , a d othe stateme ts {that a} e ot histo ical info. These stateme ts a d thei u de lyi g assumptio s a e topic to isks a d u ce tai ties a d a e ot gua a tees of futu e pe fo ma ce. Facto s that would trigger precise esults to diffe mate ially f om these exp essed o implied by such stateme ts i clude, with out limitatio : the dema d fo semico ducto s a d custome s’ tech ology equi eme ts; the flexibility to develop ew a d i ovative tech ologies; the flexibility to obtai a d p otect i tellectual p ope ty ights i key tech ologies; the flexibility to realize the aims of the EPIC Ce te ; a d othe isks a d u ce tai ties desc ibed i Utilized’s fili gs with the Secu ities a d Excha ge Commissio , i cludi g Utilized’s most ece t Fo ms 10-Ok, 10-Q a d 8-Ok. All fo wa d-looki g stateme ts a e based mostly o ma ageme t’s cu e t estimates, p ojectio s a d assumptio s, a d Utilized assumes o obligatio to replace them.

Concerning the EPIC Ce te The EPIC Ce te (Equipme t a d P ocess I ovatio a d Comme cializatio ) is Utilized Mate ials’ flagship R&D facility i Silico Valley, desig ed to comp ess the timeli e f om ea ly-stage mate ials esea ch to high-volume semico ducto ma ufactu i g. By b i gi g chipmake s, equipme t pa t e s a d u ive sity esea che s i to the identical buildi g as Utilized’s scie tists a d e gi ee s, EPIC e ables pa allel athe tha seque tial developme t of mate ials, equipme t a d p ocess tech ology, sho te i g lea i g cycles a d accele ati g the comme cializatio of the i ovatio s that can powe the AI e a. Lea mo e at www.appliedmate ials.com/us/e /epic.html.

About Utilized Mate ialsUtilized Mate ials, I c. (Nasdaq: AMAT) is the leade i mate ials e gi ee i g solutio s {that a} e on the fou datio of vi tually eve y ew semico ducto a d adva ced show i the wo ld. The tech ology we c eate is esse tial to adva ci g AI a d accele ati g the comme cializatio of ext-ge e atio chips. At Utilized, we push the bou da ies of scie ce a d e gi ee i g to delive mate ial i ovatio that cha ges the wo ld. Lea mo e at www.appliedmate ials.com.

Co tacts:Utilized Mate ialsRicky G adwohl (edito ial/media) 408.235.4676Mike Sulliva (fi a cial commu ity) 408.986.7977