Applied Materials and Intel announced a semiconductor R&D collaboration on October 6, 2026, focused on technologies for AI computing. The work is planned across Applied Materials’ EPIC Center in Silicon Valley and Intel’s R&D campus in Hillsboro, Oregon, with a scope spanning next-generation transistors, interconnects and advanced packaging. The announcement describes development goals—not finished chips, measured performance gains or manufacturing results.
What Applied Materials and Intel are working on
The collaboration covers materials, process technologies and device architectures for advanced logic nodes aimed at AI workloads. It includes both front-end logic development and back-end interconnect and packaging work. The companies say they want to shorten the path from technology development to market. Applied Materials’ October 6, 2026 announcement sets out the scope and locations.
| Area | Announced focus |
|---|---|
| Front-end logic and devices | Next-generation transistors, materials, process technologies and device architectures for advanced logic nodes targeting AI workloads. |
| Interconnects | Interconnect scaling as part of front-end and back-end-of-line advances. |
| Advanced packaging | Foveros-based 3D stacking, with goals of higher interconnect density, improved power delivery and enhanced thermal performance for high-performance computing platforms. |
The packaging benefits are stated objectives, not reported test outcomes. The release does not say that the collaboration has produced a new chip or demonstrated those improvements.
What the EPIC Center is—and how it fits
EPIC stands for Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization. Applied Materials describes its Silicon Valley center as a collaborative semiconductor R&D facility meant to bring chipmakers together with equipment and process development, helping move technologies from early research toward full-scale manufacturing. Its intended approach includes parallel development and earlier handoffs among chipmakers, equipment manufacturers, universities and research institutions. See the company’s EPIC Center overview.
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In the announced partnership, Applied Materials’ EPIC Center is paired with Intel’s R&D campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. That describes where the collaborative work is planned, not evidence that the center was already operating or that development had concluded. Applied Materials said in October 2026 that the center was scheduled to be operationally ready in 2026; its overview also gave 2026 as the expected start of operations.
What the companies say they expect
The executives framed the collaboration as a way to deepen cooperation and speed development. Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, said: “Bringing our teams together at the EPIC Center will deepen that partnership and accelerate the transistor, interconnect and packaging innovations needed to drive the future of AI computing.”
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Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, said: “Applied Materials is an important partner, and we look forward to expanding our work together at the EPIC Center to help accelerate the path from the lab to high-volume manufacturing in the United States.”
Dr. Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, said: “We look forward to working closely with Intel as a founding partner of the EPIC Center to shorten development cycles and bring new technologies to market faster.”
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Naga Chandrasekaran, Intel Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, and General Manager of Intel Foundry, said: “Applied Materials’ new EPIC Center provides an environment where our teams can collaborate even more closely and at higher velocity to accelerate materials development and process innovations.”
These are company expectations. The announcement’s forward-looking-statement notice says future plans, technology development and expected benefits are subject to risks and uncertainties, not guarantees. No independent outcome statistics or measured results for this collaboration were provided in the release.
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What has—and has not—been established
The announcement establishes the partners, planned locations, technology areas and intended purpose of the collaboration. It does not establish that the work has delivered production-ready processes, increased chip performance, improved manufacturing yields or reduced development time.
Applied Materials also cited facility figures from its original 2023 announcement: the planned center was described as having more than 180,000 square feet of cleanroom space, and the company then expected up to $4 billion in gross incremental capital investment over seven years. Those are dated plans and expectations, not verified current facility measurements or a final spending total. The figures appear in the company’s May 22, 2023 facility announcement.
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