Applied Materials Announces Advantest as Innovation Partner for EPIC Platform in Silicon Valley

Applied Materials, Inc. said Advantest Corporation will join its EPIC platform as an innovation partner. The move links semiconductor front-end manufacturing with back-end testing for chips and packages and is tied to a co-location effort in Silicon Valley.

The companies cited chip and advanced packaging complexity and planned cross-ecosystem collaboration to connect materials engineering and process control with semiconductor testing and measurement. They said the work would address in-line metrology and inspection as well as final device testing.

Applied described its EPIC (Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization) Center in Silicon Valley as a new facility designed to reduce the time from early-stage research to full-scale manufacturing, with planned operational status in 2026. Advantest said it established a new Innovation Center on Applied’s R&D campus in Silicon Valley to connect with the EPIC Center and support R&D programs using state-of-the-art labs and research facilities.

Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, said, “Applied Materials designed the EPIC platform to dramatically accelerate the commercialization of next-generation semiconductors by co-locating and co-innovating with our customers and partners.” Doug Lefever, Representative Director and Group CEO of Advantest Corporation, said, “Establishing our Innovation Center in Silicon Valley alongside Applied’s new EPIC Center allows us to collaborate faster and co-develop scalable and cost-effective testing methodologies for our customers’ next-generation devices.”

Forward-looking statements in the release include expectations for Applied’s EPIC platform and Center plans, and related risks and uncertainties.