Applied Materials, SK Hynix Team Up To Build AI Memory
Synopsis
Applied Materials and SK Hynix have agreed to work together on the next generation of AI memory chips. Engineers from both companies will be based at Applied's new $5 billion EPIC Centre in Silicon Valley, opening this year. The work covers new materials, chip layering, and smarter packaging to help memory keep pace with fast AI processors. SK Hynix joins as a founding partner at the centre. Micron Technology announced a similar deal the same day, as the push for faster and better AI memory keeps growing stronger across the industry.
Applied Materials and SK Hynix signed a long-term agreement to make faster AI memory chips. Their engineers will collaborate at a new $5 billion lab in Silicon Valley that’s scheduled to open this year. Micron inked a similar agreement that same day.
Key Highlights
- Applied Materials and SK Hynix have reached a long-term agreement to develop next-generation AI memory chips.
- They will both work alongside one another at Applied’s $5 billion EPIC Centre in Silicon Valley.
- The agreement includes new materials, stacking chips and better methods for making memory.
- SK Hynix will serve as a founding partner at the EPIC Centre, set to open this year.
- One day earlier, Micron had struck a similar deal with Applied Materials.
Two Large Companies Entered Into a Long-Term Agreement
Applied Materials said it had partnered with Micron Technology and SK Hynix, memory chip makers, to create next-generation chips necessary for artificial intelligence and high-end computing. This is not a short-term project. Both sides emphasised that they are in this for the long term, and want to build something lasting.
Supported by engineers from both companies, the collaboration will see teams work in proximity at Applied’s EPIC Centre in Silicon Valley. There they will push new ideas around materials, process steps and 3D chip stacking as memory designs transition beyond what is currently being produced.
What is the Intent of this collaboration?
The two companies emphasised new materials, improved methods for interconnecting chip layers and smarter packaging that enables future memory chips to be more powerful and cheaper to build at scale. None of these is an easy task. Each of them takes years of work before the product appears on the market.
One of the biggest challenges limiting AI progress today is that memory chips have not increased in speed as much as processors have. Put simply, the central processing unit of an AI system has moved fast but information storage is not keeping pace. This is a partnership to close this gap so AI can run more efficiently and with less power in the process.
Where will this Work Happen
The EPIC Centre from Applied is a proposed $5 billion semiconductor research and development investment centre in Silicon Valley. This year, the centre is opening with SK Hynix as one of its first partners.
The centre is designed to speed the process of moving a new idea from early testing through full production. For chip companies, that means bringing better products to market more quickly. In a field as fast-moving as AI hardware, this sort of swiftness really matters.
AI is Driving a Huge Need for Better Memory
Demand for memory chips has soared as major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and OpenAI continue to roll out more A.I. systems and data centres. Every new model that comes along requires a huge amount of fast memory to function. And that demand isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
As part of this deal, SK Hynix will also deploy Applied’s packaging research facility in Singapore. By linking labs in two countries, the two companies are ensuring that every aspect of the problem gets its due. This is a full-fledged commitment on both sides and not just a little trial run between 2 companies dipping their toe in the water.
FAQs
- Which areas will the two companies collaborate in?
Engineers from both companies will work at Applied Materials’ new EPIC Centre in Silicon Valley, which opens this year.
- Why should AI have a better memory?
AI processors have become far faster but memory has not kept pace, slowing AI down and wasting energy.
- Did another company sign a similar deal?
Yes, on the same day, Micron Technology struck a deal with Applied Materials as well.
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