By Mwangi Enos
Publication Date: 2026-05-11 23:37:00
A few days before its fiscal second quarter earnings report on May 14, Applied Materials (AMAT) announced a new co-innovation partnership with TSMC, the world’s leading chipmaker, to be carried out at Applied’s new $5 billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley.
It is the largest U.S. investment ever in advanced semiconductor equipment research and development, and TSMC is now a founding partner.
According to Market Chameleon, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) is the world’s largest dedicated chip foundry, with a market share of about 70% in 2025. The Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company produces advanced chips for major technology companies such as Apple, Nvidia and Qualcomm and serves as a critical, central hub in the global artificial intelligence (AI) and electronics supply chain.
The timing is deliberate. According to Yahoo Finance, AMAT is up 73.97% year-to-date and 189.52% over the past year. Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $432 to $454 last week and announced the upcoming…
