PUBLISHED ONJune 10, 2026 9:40 AMBYSean LerUS semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials officially opened its expanded manufacturing facility in Tampines on Wednesday (June 10).
The expansion is expected to create about 1,000 new jobs — across manufacturing, research and development, headquarter and field services — over the next few years to support industry growth and technology commercialisation.
Built at a cost of $600 million, the new Tampines campus will double Applied Materials' advanced cleanroom capacity here and strengthen global manufacturing footprint.
President and CEO of Applied Materials Gary Dickerson said in a news release that the expanded manufacturing operations here will help strengthen the company's ability to deliver semiconductor manufacturing equipment that chipmakers need to bring next-generation chips to market faster.
Speaking at the facility's opening on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong noted that Applied Material's presence in Singapore has grown steadily since it began operations here in 1991.
"It is a strong affirmation of Applied’s confidence in Singapore as a trusted partner to grow its business, serve global customers, and build capabilities for the future," he said, adding that this is significant in today's operating environment, where countries are competing to secure their positions in critical supply chains.
Having been a "reliable base" for companies to grow from, Singapore must now strengthen its leadership in areas where it can make a meaningful impact, while ensuring that its capabilities are difficult to replicate, DPM Gan said.
He stated three ways in which the city state will do so: attracting and anchoring new investments and capabilities that can strengthen Singapore's role in global supply chains, while creating good jobs for Singaporeans; helping existing operations transform; and, entrenching investments more deeply into its ecosystem.
Citing the example of Applied's partnership with Singapore as an example, DPM Gan said: "This new facility strengthens Applied’s manufacturing presence here and reinforces Singapore’s role as a key global hub for semiconductor equipment."
Applied's presence in Singapore has created value beyond itself.
He noted how Applied Materials has been collaborating with A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics on advanced packaging technologies over the past 15 years.
In addition, Applied has also maintained a corporate laboratory with the National University of Singapore for the past eight years, strengthening capabilities in advanced materials synthesis and characterisation.
"These capabilities will matter more as the future of semiconductors depends not only on chip design, but also on breakthroughs in materials, processes and integration," DPM Gan said.
The university on Wednesday announced the exchange of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Applied Materials on artificial intelligence acceleration for semiconductor process collaboration.
Under the MOU, the two entities will focus their research on shortening the long cycle of trial and error needed to develop and optimise new materials and processes.
This is presently one of the most expensive bottlenecks in chipmaking.
Beyond these and helping local precision engineering companies to build capabilities to support next-generation semiconductor technologies across the Internet of Things (IoT), communications, automotive, power and sensor applications, Applied is also contributing towards building a pipeline of engineers, researchers and professionals.
To this end, it announced the establishment of a $2 million scholarship with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), which will go towards supporting deserving SIT engineering undergraduates from financial disadvantaged backgrounds.
"When a leading global company like Applied deepens its presence here, it creates opportunities for local suppliers, strengthens our advanced manufacturing base, and helps Singapore-based companies plug into global value chains," DPM Gan added.
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