SINGAPORE: Applied Materials Inc, the largest US maker of chip-manufacturing equipment, has launched an initiative to bring together firms from across the semiconductor industry in Singapore to accelerate technologies for energy-efficient computing.

The initiative – named Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialisation (Epic) Advanced Packaging Platform – will encourage alliances between equipment makers, material providers, device companies and research institutes.

The partnerships will focus on accelerating the commercialisation of advanced chip-packaging technologies that promise more energy-efficient system performance.

Data centres are struggling to meet the immense computational demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (Gen AI) workloads, straining power grids.

In a recent report, consultant Gartner predicted a 160% increase in data centre energy consumption over the next two years, driven by AI and Gen AI.

Applied Materials said the dramatic rise in the number of connected devices and the emergence of AI are creating tremendous growth opportunities for the chip industry.

But the industry is also confronting several challenges, foremost of which is the exponential increase in energy consumption fuelled by the intense computing power required to support the growth of AI.

In response, chipmakers and system designers are increasingly turning to advanced packaging – integration of separately manufactured chips – to achieve more energy-efficient performance.

However, the need to develop multiple technologies simultaneously creates challenges for computer and software system designers, who must navigate a complex array of solution paths and packaging methods.

This increased complexity adds additional risk, time and cost to chipmakers, said Applied Materials. Hence, there is a clear need for increased collaboration across this complicated ecosystem.

To kick off the initiative, Applied Materials held a summit at the Grand Hyatt Singapore on Nov 19.

Dr Prabu Raja, president of the semiconductor products group at Applied Materials, said the firm’s strategy with the Epic Advanced Packaging Platform is to drive co-innovation and change the way foundational packaging technologies are developed and commercialised.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said the Epic platform will enable Singapore to participate in the innovation of new chip architectures, materials and processes.

This will benefit not only Applied Materials, but the country’s semiconductor ecosystem as well. Gan told the summit that the initiative will also enrich Singapore’s research ecosystem.

“It will provide an avenue for our researchers to acquire experience, knowledge and capabilities as they engage with globally leading semiconductor players and contribute to foundational research for next-generation tools,” he said.

“This will enable them to gain early insights into the requirements of the industry at the product development stage and help accelerate research and commercialisation.”

 — ANN