On October 1, 2026, Applied Materials announced a significant expansion of its strategic partnership with BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi). Besi will join Applied’s EPIC Center as an Innovation Partner to help develop next-generation packaging technologies for scaling semiconductors used in artificial intelligence.
The partnership builds on a joint development program launched in 2020. The companies will extend their co-innovation beyond die-to-wafer hybrid bonding to include new interconnect architectures.
The goal is to give mutual customers earlier access to co-optimized solutions for the semiconductor industry’s AI-driven roadmap. The work will address demand for higher-density, higher-bandwidth chip connections.
Semiconductor stocks rose in after-hours trading amid the announcement and broader positive sentiment in the tech sector. Applied Materials gained more than 4%.