Intel and Applied Materials Inc. announced a collaboration on chip manufacturing technology.

The two companies disclosed the partnership Tuesday, Oct. 6. The work will focus on new transistor designs, wiring between chip components and advanced 3D packaging for high-performance AI processors.

Research will take place at Applied Materials' EPIC Center in Silicon Valley and Intel's R&D campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. The EPIC Center, short for Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization, is a roughly $5 billion semiconductor research facility scheduled to be operational this year. Intel is a founding partner of the center, alongside Taiwan's TSMC.

The announcement disclosed no financial terms for the collaboration.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the announcement that demand for AI computing is driving the need for major advances in performance, power efficiency and packaging. "Applied Materials is an important partner, and we look forward to expanding our work together at the EPIC Center to help accelerate the path from the lab to high-volume manufacturing in the United States," Tan said.

The collaboration advances Intel's broader manufacturing roadmap. Intel's Ohio One campus in the New Albany International Business Park, a two-plant complex designed to produce chips using Intel's 18A process technology, a two-factory complex planned for advanced chip manufacturing, is part of that roadmap.

Construction at the New Albany site has been slower than originally projected. Intel announced the project in January 2022 with plans to open within three years. The timeline has since stretched. As of late August, Intel said it remains on track to complete the first plant by 2031, according to WOSU.

Intel had invested more than $5 billion in the site by the end of 2025. Total commitments are closer to $7 billion, the company said.

New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding acknowledged in August that there had been "some slowdowns" but said "things are picking up." He added that Intel had been transparent about needing to line up customers to keep the project on pace.

Questions remain about the site's operational future. NBC4 reported in July that Intel was considering bringing on a partner to help run the Ohio plant. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted said in July that Intel had told him a potential partner could speed up construction and create demand for additional fabs.

Intel's broader financial picture shows momentum. According to NBC4, Tan said in July that the company posted its strongest quarterly revenue growth in more than 15 years. Intel has raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to more than $20 billion.

The Applied Materials collaboration does not come with a public timeline for milestones or a stated connection to the New Albany campus specifically. But Applied Materials’ announcement frames the work as accelerating the path to "high-volume manufacturing in the United States."

Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said as far as he knew, the equipment could take about two years to obtain.