Applied Materials and SK hynix Forge Long-Term R&D Pact to Accelerate Next-Gen Memory

Overview

• Applied Materials announced a multiyear collaboration with SK hynix focused on speeding DRAM and high-bandwidth memory development for AI and high-performance computing.
• Engineers from both companies will colocate at Applied’s $5 billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley to work on materials engineering, process integration, and advanced 3D packing.
• SK hynix will serve as a founding partner at the EPIC Center and will contribute advanced packaging research in Singapore as part of the program.
• Applied says the EPIC Center is expected to open later this year to give chipmakers earlier R&D access and reduce time to high-volume manufacturing.
• Investor interest remains constructive, with broad analyst Buy ratings and fresh commentary from Jim Cramer highlighting capital-equipment makers and memory shortages as tailwinds for Applied.