The AI hardware boom is moving upstream into semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Lam Research has started construction on a new advanced R&D lab in Oregon, part of more than $3 billion of planned investment in its global laboratory network.
The facility will support process development, materials research and hardware validation for next-generation semiconductors.
For electronics manufacturers, this is another important part of the AI supply chain.
Building advanced chips also requires increasingly sophisticated equipment around them:
• RF and power electronics
• Motion control
• Sensor systems
• Test and measurement
• Industrial networking
• Machine control PCBAs
• High-reliability assemblies
The AI opportunity does not stop at servers or processors.
It extends into the equipment required to develop, manufacture and test those processors.
For PCB and PCBA suppliers, that creates a much wider industrial-electronics market.

Originally published on ShinePCB’s LinkedIn company page: 2026-08-28.