Applied Materials and Kioxia are teaming up to develop next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) memory technology. Their collaboration will focus on joint research into memory cell structures, multi-chip stacking, and advanced packaging to enhance the density and performance of AI memory.
On September 30, Applied Materials announced that Kioxia will join the EPIC Center in Silicon Valley, California, as an innovation partner. The two companies will work together on memory cell formation, multi-chip stacking architecture, and new materials engineering technologies.
Kioxia is a leading memory company specializing in NAND flash and solid-state drives (SSDs). With the rise of AI, the demand for storage capacity, speed, and energy efficiency has increased, making the development of next-generation NAND and stacking and packaging technologies more critical.
The companies will research chip stacking technologies and multi-die packaging to integrate more memory into limited spaces. They also plan to develop new materials and process technologies to connect increasingly complex memory structures to mass production.
The EPIC Center already includes founding partners such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Micron, and TSMC, with additional innovation partners like Broadcom, Advantest, and Screen. With Kioxia's participation, the collaborative R&D ecosystem now encompasses major memory manufacturers from DRAM and HBM to NAND.
The EPIC Center is a semiconductor joint research facility established by Applied Materials with an investment of approximately $5 billion. Its goal is to shorten the time from research to mass production by fostering collaboration among equipment manufacturers, semiconductor producers, design companies, and universities from the outset. Samsung Electronics also decided to participate in February to jointly develop next-generation memory architectures and 3D integration technologies.
Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, stated, "AI infrastructure requires memory solutions that provide dramatically higher density, wider bandwidth, and improved energy efficiency. By combining Kioxia's memory expertise with Applied's materials engineering innovations, we aim to redefine the possibilities of next-generation memory."
Minori Kajimoto, Senior Vice President of Advanced Memory Development at Kioxia, remarked, "By collaborating with Applied Materials at the EPIC Center, we have established a unique environment to tackle the most challenging problems in next-generation memory. We aim to accelerate the commercialization of innovations in next-generation memory and packaging technologies."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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