KIOXIA joins Applied Materials' EPIC Center as memory makers line up
Flash memory maker KIOXIA will join Applied Materials' EPIC Center in Silicon Valley as an innovation partner. It is the latest in a series of chipmakers to sign up.
The companies will work on higher-density memory architectures, stacking multiple chips within constrained form factors, improving integration and interconnect performance in multi-die memory packages, and materials engineering that can support manufacturing at scale, according to a press release from Applied Materials.
"AI infrastructure requires memory solutions that can deliver dramatically higher density, greater bandwidth and improved energy efficiency," says Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials.
As Evertiq has previously reported, Micron joined the centre in March to develop next-generation memory for AI systems, the same month Applied signed a long-term AI memory R&D agreement with SK hynix. In May, Advantest became the first automated test equipment company on the platform, followed by TSMC as a founding partner.
"By having top innovators from KIOXIA and Applied Materials working side by side, we aim to accelerate the commercialization of breakthroughs in memory and packaging technologies that achieve new levels of integration and performance for AI computing," says Minori Kajimoto, General Manager of Advanced Memory Development at KIOXIA.
The EPIC Center, first announced in 2023, is intended to shorten the time it takes to move new technologies from early-stage research into high-volume manufacturing, and is expected to be operational this year. Applied Materials describes it as a USD 5 billion investment. However, according to the company, capital spending is expected to reach that level only gradually, as customer projects commence.
