Kioxia has joined the EPIC Center, a $5 billion research facility established by Applied Materials in Silicon Valley. The center focuses on accelerating the development of next-generation memory and logic technologies for AI workloads by integrating equipment manufacturing with chip production.
The facility spans over 180,000 square feet of cleanroom space and was first announced in May 2023. It is scheduled to be operational by 2026, with founding partners including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron, and TSMC arriving on a staggered schedule between February and May 2026.
Kioxia, formerly the memory division of Toshiba, brings expertise in high-density NAND flash and 3D NAND technology to the hub. The collaboration aims to address specific requirements for AI, such as data movement speed, power efficiency, and capacity, through advancements in materials engineering and packaging.
The EPIC Center model allows engineers from partner firms to work directly with Applied Materials teams. This approach is intended to shorten development cycles by eliminating the need for shipping prototypes between suppliers and manufacturers.
