National, India, Applied Materials, Inc. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with ASMPT Limited (HKEX: 0522) to acquire its NEXX business, a leading supplier of large-area advanced packaging deposition equipment for the semiconductor industry. The addition of the NEXX team and products will broaden Applied’s portfolio of panel-level advanced packaging technologies which are designed to enable chipmakers and systems companies to build larger-body AI accelerators for higher energy-efficient performance.
Increasing AI workloads demand larger chiplet-based designs that integrate greater numbers of GPUs, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks and input-output (I/O) chips in a single, advanced package. As AI chip packages scale to more complex architectures like 2.5D and 3D chiplet stacking, the demand for larger interposers and advanced substrates drives the transition from 300-millimeter silicon wafers to panel form factors as large as 510 by 515 millimeters or more, enabling designers to build larger AI chips and achieve substantially higher output.
Applied is already a leading supplier of advanced packaging technologies and has been working to accelerate the transition to advanced panel substrates by developing a strong portfolio of manufacturing systems spanning digital lithography, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and etch along with eBeam metrology and inspection. The addition of NEXX’s panel-level electrochemical deposition (ECD) technology will broaden Applied’s portfolio and served addressable market, allowing Applied to develop co-optimized solutions for fine-pitch I/O wiring and accelerate advanced packaging roadmaps for AI chipmakers and systems companies.
“Having NEXX join Applied Materials complements our leadership in advanced packaging, particularly in panel processing – an area where we see tremendous opportunities for customer co-innovation and growth in the years ahead,” said Dr. Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials. “We look forward to welcoming NEXX’s talented team to Applied and collaborating with our combined customer base on this exciting new chapter in advanced packaging technology.”
“We are excited for NEXX to be a part of Applied Materials because together, we can accelerate the computing industry’s adoption of large-format advanced packaging technologies,” said Jarek Pisera, President of ASMPT NEXX. “NEXX’s products are already strong, and we intend to build on our success as part of Applied Materials with a continued focus on innovation, quality and excellent customer service.”
The transaction is expected to close within the next several months and is subject to customary closing conditions. No regulatory approvals are required.
Following the close of the transaction, the NEXX team will be incorporated into Applied’s Semiconductor Products Group and will continue to be based in Billerica, Massachusetts.
