Applied Materials (AMAT.US) has increased its stake in chip equipment maker Besi to 20%, but made clear it has no intention to increase further or seek a board seat.

Applied Materials (AMAT.US) has increased its stake in fellow chip equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries NV (Besi) and pledged to strengthen cooperation between the two companies, further deepening their partnership around advanced chip packaging technology used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. According to a statement released on Monday, Applied Materials' stake will increase to approximately 20% of the outstanding shares. The U.S. company first invested in Besi in April last year with an initial stake of 9%, when the company had a market value of approximately $13 billion. The transaction is still subject to U.S. antitrust review. The increased stake builds on six years of cooperation between the two companies, which have been working together on hybrid bonding technology since 2020. Besi recently also formally joined Applied Materials' newly established chip equipment research institute the EPIC Center. The expanded partnership will focus on new chip connection and packaging technologies aimed at supporting next-generation AI semiconductors. "We look forward to further deepening our strategic collaboration with Besi to deliver the innovative products and technologies customers need to scale AI systems," said Prabu Raja, President of Applied Materials' Semiconductor Products Group, in the statement. It is understood that last week, market concerns arose that another Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US), could become a competitor to Besi in the hybrid bonding space, which Besi denied. Hybrid bonding is a core process in advanced chip packaging used to enhance the computing performance of AI chips, and is also Besi's area of expertise. Although Applied Materials described the investment as "long-term," the company said it currently has no plans for a larger acquisition. "Applied Materials currently has no intention to increase its investment in Besi above approximately 20%, nor does it intend to seek a board seat at Besi," the company said.