Applied Materials acquires 9% stake in BE Semiconductor Industries

Applied Materials and Besi have worked together since 2020 to co-develop integrated equipment solutions for die-based hybrid bonding. Their partnership recently expanded with the development of what the companies describe as the industry’s first fully integrated hybrid bonding system designed for high-volume manufacturing.

Hybrid bonding, which connects chips through direct copper-to-copper bonds, is gaining traction as chipmakers push to enhance performance and energy efficiency in advanced logic and memory devices. The technology improves interconnect density and reduces wiring length between chiplets, resulting in better performance, lower power consumption, and reduced cost.

“We view this as a strategic, long-term investment that demonstrates Applied Materials’ commitment to co-developing the industry’s most capable hybrid bonding solution, a technology that is becoming increasingly important to the advanced logic and memory chips at the foundation of AI,” says Terry Lee, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Heterogeneous Integration and Packaging at Applied Materials, in a press release. “We look forward to furthering our collaboration with Besi and delivering innovative technology to our customers.”

The co-developed hybrid bonding system integrates Applied’s front-end wafer and chip processing technologies with Besi’s precision die placement and assembly capabilities. The solution is intended to enable chipmakers to scale hybrid bonding for very high-volume production over the next several years.

Applied Materials says in the press release it does not plan to seek board representation at Besi or to purchase additional shares. The transaction is not subject to regulatory approval.