应用材料公司增加了对同行芯片设备制造商BE Semiconductor Industries NV的持股，并承诺加强双方合作，理由是这家欧洲公司在节能AI计算领域的作用日益重要。
Materials Inc. boosted its stake in fellow chip-equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries NV and vowed to step up their work together, citing the European company’s growing role in energy-efficient AI computing.
根据周一的一份声明，应用材料的持股比例将增至流通股的约20%。这家美国公司去年4月首次投资BE Semiconductor（简称Besi），初始持股占该公司股份的9%，后者市值约为130亿美元。
Applied’s stake will increase to about 20% of outstanding shares, according to a statement Monday. The US company first invested in BE Semiconductor, known as Besi, in April of last year. The initial stake amounted to 9% of the business, which has a market value of about $13 billion.
此举是双方六年合作的延续。Besi最近还加入了应用材料新建的芯片设备研究设施——EPIC中心。
The latest move follows a six-year collaboration between the two companies. Besi also recently joined Applied’s new chip-equipment research facility known as the EPIC Center.
应用材料半导体产品集团总裁Prabu Raja在声明中表示：“我们也期待进一步深化与Besi的战略合作，提供客户扩展AI系统所需的创新产品和技术。”
“We also look forward to furthering our strategic collaboration with Besi and delivering the innovative products and technologies our customers need to scale AI systems,” Prabu Raja, president of Applied’s semiconductor products group, said in the statement.
上周，Besi驳回了关于荷兰同行芯片设备制造商ASML Holding NV正在混合键合领域成为竞争对手的担忧。Besi专攻该技术，该技术用于芯片组装，以提升其在人工智能计算方面的性能。
Last week, Besi rebuffed concerns that fellow Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML Holding NV was emerging as a competitor in hybrid bonding. Besi specializes in that technology, which is used in the assembly of chips to boost their performance for artificial intelligence computing.
尽管应用材料将这项投资描述为“长期”布局，但公司表示并不打算进行更大规模的收购。公司称：“应用材料目前无意将对Besi的投资增加至约20%以上，也不打算寻求在Besi董事会中获得席位。”
Though Applied described its investment as “long term,” the company said a bigger takeover is not in the works. “Applied currently has no intention to increase its investment in Besi beyond approximately 20%, and Applied does not intend to seek board representation at Besi,” the company said.