AMAT (Applied Materials)
I know, we’re taking a hit remember where we were a year ago?
Remember what I said about Amat (check the pin post)
When it comes to politics and understanding what it means to solve issues Today's news helps the general toolmaker framing. Applied is putting $5B into a facility where chipmakers, systems companies, and universities develop next-gen process tech on its equipment. That's the "value accrues to the toolmaker" dynamic in physical form: customers codeveloping inside Applied's walls, which deepens lock in. It also fits the "8 quarters of visibility" argument.
So why?
Chip R&D has been done in separate stages. Materials research happens in one place, equipment and process development in another, and integration and pilot production in a third, with a handoff between each. The release says EPIC removes those handoffs by putting the people who invent the materials, build the tools, and make the chips in one facility. At today's complexity (3D memory, advanced packaging, new transistor structures), those layers depend on each other so tightly that sequential handoffs cost years
Why rivals cooperate?
Well Each partner keeps its chip designs proprietary. What they share is the equipment and materials layer, where the problem is too big for any one company. The release frames it that way, and it describes secure learning cycles, so each customer's work stays walled off from the others. Applied is the neutral party in the middle.
And guess what?
This is how ASML got its position. In 2012, Intel, TSMC, and Samsung all invested in ASML to speed up EUV, because no one customer could carry the risk. The toolmaker became the convergence point for the whole industry. EPIC looks like Applied trying to build that same position across materials, process, and packaging.
Like always my friends I’ll keep you posted
