Applied Materials today announced it has acquired Picosun, a privately held semiconductor equipment company based in Espoo, Finland. Picosun is an innovator in atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, primarily for speciality semiconductors.
As electronic products become smarter and more connected, they require greater numbers of speciality semiconductors built on non-leading-edge process nodes. Applied’s ICAPS (IoT, Communications, Automotive, Power and Sensors) group provides materials engineering solutions to customers in these growing markets. The addition of Picosun’s ALD technology broadens the Applied ICAPS product portfolio and customer engagements. Picosun also brings to Applied deep research and development (R&D) capabilities, talented teams and strong relationships with leading research institutions and universities throughout the world.
“Picosun is a pioneer in ALD technology with products that serve fast-growing segments of the speciality foundry-logic market,” said Gary Dickerson, president and CEO of Applied Materials. “The addition of Picosun complements Applied Materials’ technology portfolio and expands our opportunities to accelerate our customers’ roadmaps.”
“Rapid growth in the number of connected devices is driving a tremendous need for innovation in the chips used to bridge the analogue and digital worlds,” said Sundar Ramamurthy, group vice-president and general manager of the ICAPS group at Applied Materials. “Bringing Picosun’s talented team to Applied Materials will strengthen our ability to help customers add more intelligence and functionality to a wide variety of edge computing devices.”
“Picosun has a strong history of innovation, with roots dating back to the invention of ALD technology nearly 50 years ago,” said Kustaa Poutiainen, former Chairman of the Board of Picosun. “As we look ahead to our next phase of growth, we believe starting a new journey as part of Applied Materials – a company we have long admired – is the best path forward and will create exciting opportunities for our employees, customers and research partners.”
The Picosun team will continue to be based in Finland and will report to Applied’s ICAPS group.
The transaction has been approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland; no other regulatory approvals were required. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Goldman Sachs & Co served as financial advisor and Hogan Lovells US served as legal counsel for Applied Materials.