U.S. semiconductor R&D investment expands, including major memory projects

IEEE Spectrum reports a broader rise in private U.S. semiconductor investment. Micron has announced $10 billion over ten years for a Boise memory research lab, and SK hynix has announced a $4 billion advanced-packaging facility in Indiana. The companies did not specify how much of those sums is dedicated to research and development. Separately, Applied Materials opened its EPIC center after raising its planned investment to about $5 billion, with memory makers among its partners. The commitments signal continued investment in memory research and packaging capacity, although they do not directly quantify new DRAM or NAND output.