Lam Research breaks ground on Oregon lab in $3B AI push

Lam Research Corp. began construction on a new Oregon R&D lab, the first milestone in a more than $3 billion five-year expansion of its global lab network to speed development of advanced AI chips.

"Delivering advanced semiconductors at the speed of AI requires relentless innovation and a strategic focus on the technology breakthroughs that matter most to our customers," Tim Archer, president and chief executive officer at Lam Research, said at the ceremony.

The Tualatin facility, projected to open in 2028, will be the company's biggest investment in Oregon and is expected to add hundreds of jobs to the region's "Silicon Forest." The construction project alone is projected to generate $500 million in economic impact over its three-year build, according to an IMPLAN analysis. Intel Foundry and Micron Technology, both long-standing Lam collaborators, will work with the company at the new lab to accelerate process development at chip scale.

The expansion comes as AI-driven demand for advanced memory and logic chips strains global manufacturing capacity. Nearly every advanced chip built today uses Lam equipment, giving the company's R&D output direct leverage over the industry's transition to more complex nodes.

A $3 Billion Bet on AI-Driven Demand

The Oregon lab is one piece of a broader capital program. Lam plans to invest more than $3 billion across its global lab network over the next five years, expanding cleanroom space and innovation capabilities to accelerate development cycles. The company did not break out how much of that total is earmarked for the Tualatin site.

The facility will support collaborative innovation with chip makers, a model Lam has used in Oregon for decades. Intel's Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer at Intel Foundry, said the new lab would let the two companies "quickly evaluate new technologies" and deliver the breakthroughs required for AI-driven computing. Micron's Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of global operations, said the collaboration would help equip Micron for "significant manufacturing expansion to keep pace with the AI era."

The co-development model matters because chip makers increasingly rely on equipment suppliers to solve manufacturing challenges at the most advanced nodes. As transistors shrink toward the 2nm and 1nm generations, deposition and etch steps — Lam's core businesses — become more numerous and more complex, requiring tighter collaboration between fab operators and tool vendors.

Silicon Forest's Role in the AI Supply Chain

Oregon's "Silicon Forest" has been a hub for semiconductor R&D for more than three decades, anchored by Intel's Hillsboro campus and Lam's Tualatin operations. The state's political leadership framed the expansion as a win for jobs and national competitiveness. Governor Tina Kotek called it "a powerful investment towards Oregon's economic future," while Senator Jeff Merkley said the project would "further position Oregon's Silicon Forest as a leader in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing."

The expansion also reflects the broader reshoring push in U.S. chip manufacturing, which has funneled billions into domestic fabs and the equipment makers that supply them. For Lam, the investment locks in R&D capacity close to its largest customers — Intel and Micron both operate major fabs in the region. The company's global lab network spans the United States, Europe, and Asia, and the Oregon site will anchor its North American R&D operations.

Lam Research, a FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Fremont, California, trades on the Nasdaq under LRCX. The $3 billion capital program commits sustained spending on R&D infrastructure at a time when wafer fabrication equipment demand is closely tied to AI infrastructure buildout. For investors, the question is whether the expansion translates into faster product cycles and market share gains against rivals like Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron, which compete in adjacent deposition and etch segments. The company's ability to convert R&D investment into equipment that reduces chip makers' cost per wafer will determine whether the capital program pays off.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.