Lam Research to invest $3 billion in global R&D lab expansion

Lam Research, a major supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, has announced plans to invest more than $3 billion over the next five years to expand its global research and development network. The multi-site expansion aims to increase the company’s experiment capacity by more than 50%.

The investment will support a network of specialized laboratories across the United States, Asia, and Europe. These facilities are designed to accelerate the innovation cycle, ranging from foundational research in materials science and mechatronics to product development and manufacturing readiness. By integrating these labs into a 24/7 network, the company intends to compress product development cycles for its customers.

Lam Research serves major memory producers including Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix. The company noted that the rapid pace of innovation in the AI era requires advanced chip architectures and nanoscale precision, necessitating increased R&D velocity to meet customer needs for next-generation semiconductor breakthroughs.