Gary Dickerson

Stories

Applied Materials opens world's largest chip R&D center in Silicon Valley

Leading the EPIC Center initiative

Applied Materials opened a $5 billion research complex in Sunnyvale, California, where the world's biggest chipmakers will work side by side on AI chip technology. The Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center is the largest facility built for collaborative semiconductor R&D. Applied says the goal is to cut the path from lab breakthrough to commercial production from 10-12 years to as little as six.

Updated Oct 16

AI demand drives a surge in chipmaking equipment orders

Money Moves

As of August 2026: Leading the company through the AI-driven equipment cycle

Applied Materials makes the machines that build chips. On August 13, the company said its equipment business should grow more than 30% in 2026, and its advanced-packaging business more than 50%, both tied to demand for artificial-intelligence chips.

Updated Aug 13

Notable Quotes

To win the race for AI leadership, our industry must rethink and re-engineer how we collaborate to develop and commercialize the next generation of semiconductor technologies.

from Applied Materials opens world's largest chip R&D center in Silicon Valley · Updated Oct 16

There are five to 10 key technologies that determine performance and yield [of semiconductors]. The goal here is to cut that whole cycle time at least 30%, improving the time to market.

from Applied Materials opens world's largest chip R&D center in Silicon Valley · Updated Oct 16

Having innovators collocated together, having earlier access to the technologies that enable new AI architectures, is a complete game changer.

from Applied Materials opens world's largest chip R&D center in Silicon Valley · Updated Oct 16

This is moving so quick. There's never been an inflection like this in our lifetimes.

from Applied Materials opens world's largest chip R&D center in Silicon Valley · Updated Oct 16