Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857) announced it will join Applied Materials' (NASDAQ: AMAT) EPIC platform in Sunnyvale, California. Advantest becomes the first automated test equipment company to participate in the Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization platform.

The partnership connects Advantest's recently launched Innovation Center with Applied's EPIC Center, which opens later this year. The collaboration aims to develop integrated solutions linking front-end manufacturing technologies with back-end testing of semiconductors and packages.

"We are excited to have Advantest join our EPIC platform as an innovation partner, and we look forward to our teams collaborating to accelerate end-to-end semiconductor technology development for the AI era," said Gary Dickerson, president and chief executive officer of Applied Materials.

Doug Lefever, representative director and group CEO of Advantest Corporation, stated the partnership will "facilitate joint development work that yields scalable and cost-effective testing methodologies for customers' next-generation technologies."

The companies plan to co-develop solutions targeting semiconductor production flows for advanced packaging applications, particularly for high-performance computing semiconductors. The partnership addresses increasing complexity in semiconductor architecture as the industry develops next-generation technologies.

Advantest's Innovation Center provides research facilities and laboratories equipped for cross-functional collaboration on advanced test solutions. The center will connect with Applied's EPIC platform to support joint development programs across the semiconductor supply chain.

The information is based on a press release from Advantest Corporation.