Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) announced a long-term collaboration agreement with SK hynix Inc. to develop next-generation DRAM and high-bandwidth memory technologies for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications.

Engineers from both companies will work together at Applied's EPIC Center in Silicon Valley to advance materials engineering, process integration and 3D advanced packaging for memory architectures beyond current production nodes. The partnership includes joint research and development programs focusing on new materials, complex integration schemes and HBM-class advanced packaging.

SK hynix becomes a founding partner of the EPIC Center, which is scheduled to open this year. Applied's $5 billion EPIC Center represents the company's largest U.S. investment in advanced semiconductor equipment research and development. The facility is designed to reduce commercialization time for breakthrough technologies from early-stage research to manufacturing.

"Applied Materials and SK hynix share a long history of working together to improve the energy-efficient performance of advanced memory chips through innovations in materials engineering," said Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials.

The collaboration will also utilize Applied's advanced packaging research capabilities in Singapore to connect device-level innovation with heterogeneous integration for 3D advanced packaging challenges.

"The continued scaling of AI systems is driving unprecedented demand for energy-efficient memory technologies," said Nohjung Kwak, President and CEO of SK hynix. "One of the biggest hurdles in AI progress is the growing disconnect between memory speeds and advances in processors."

The companies signed a comprehensive technology development agreement to address long-term semiconductor research challenges for next-generation memory solutions.