Semiconductor test equipment vendor Advantest is joining Applied Materials’ Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) platform to strengthen the ecosystem between front-end manufacturing technologies and back-end testing of chips and packages.
It will be the first automated test equipment company to join the platform.
The move comes as Advantest just opened two innovation centers in April of 2026 for collaboration of partners to develop new test solutions for next-generation semiconductor technologies. The center includes labs and research facilities to support R&D activities and will be used to connect with the EPIC Center, opening later in 2026.
The companies said the collaboration between Advantest, Applied Materials and other vendors in the supply chain will be needed to overcome challenges of advanced packaging that is driving the complexity in high performance computing chips. The EPIC collaboration will seek to develop integrated solutions to improve next generation semiconductor:
- Performance
- Efficiency
- Yield
- Time to market
What is EPIC?
The EPIC platform is designed to create a foundational network that will connect chipmakers, equipment vendors, universities and research institutions. The goal is to improve the timeline it takes to bring next generation chips to market.
Many cycles take years but with EPIC it will potentially be reduced dramatically due to:
- Parallel development
- Early access to new processes
- Agile handoffs
“Applied Materials designed the EPIC platform to dramatically accelerate the commercialization of next-generation semiconductors by co-locating and co-innovating with our customers and partners,” said Gary Dickerson, president and CEO of Applied Materials. “By collaborating side-by-side with Advantest, we can develop solutions that enable chipmakers to optimize end-to-end semiconductor production flows and bring new designs to market faster and more efficiently.”
