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

According to Golden Ten Data, Applied Materials (AMAT.US) has further increased its stake in fellow chip equipment manufacturer BE Semiconductor Industries NV (Besi) and pledged to strengthen cooperation, deepening their partnership in advanced chip packaging technologies used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

According to a statement released on Monday, Applied Materials' stake will rise to about 20% of Besi's outstanding shares. The US company first invested in Besi in April last year with an initial stake of 9%, when Besi's market capitalization was around 13 billion USD. The deal is still subject to US antitrust review.

This increased investment builds on a six-year partnership between the two companies. Since 2020, they have been collaborating on hybrid bonding technology. Recently, Besi has also officially joined the newly established EPIC Center, a chip equipment research institution set up by Applied Materials.

The expanded partnership will focus on new chip interconnect and packaging technologies aimed at supporting the next generation of AI semiconductors.

"We look forward to further deepening our strategic collaboration with Besi to deliver the innovative products and technologies our customers need to scale up AI systems," said Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, in the statement.

It is understood that last week, the market was concerned that another Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, ASML.US, might become a competitor to Besi in the hybrid bonding field—a claim Besi has denied. Hybrid bonding is a core process for advanced chip packaging, used to enhance the computing performance of AI chips, and is a specialty area for Besi.

Although Applied Materials describes this as a "long-term" investment, the company said it has no current plans for a larger acquisition. "Applied Materials does not intend to increase its investment in Besi to over approximately 20% and does not plan to seek a seat on Besi's board," the company stated.