Advantest Joins Applied Materials’ EPIC Platform With New Silicon Valley Innovation Center

Overview

• Advantest, in a Tuesday announcement with Applied Materials, became the EPIC platform’s first automated test equipment partner and opened a co-located Innovation Center on Applied’s Silicon Valley campus.
• The partnership aims to connect front-end wafer fabrication and process control with back-end device testing so chipmakers can introduce new designs faster.
• Advantest’s on-campus labs will tie into Applied’s EPIC Center, which the company says is the largest U.S. investment in semiconductor equipment R&D and remains on track to be operational in 2026.
• Both companies say they plan to co-develop integrated solutions to streamline production flows, lift yields, and improve energy use for next-generation high-performance and AI chips, though these outcomes are goals rather than results today.
• The collaboration targets the rising complexity of multi-die, advanced packaging where early test data can flag issues sooner, helping engineers shorten prototype cycles and reduce costly rework.