Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) today announced it intends to invest more than $3 billion over five years to expand its global R&D lab network. The multi-site expansion is expected to increase experiment capacity by more than 50%. Lam’s labs operate as an integrated 24/7 network across the U.S., Asia, and Europe, enabling parallel innovation at scale.

“In the AI era, the pace of innovation is relentless. Our ability to increase velocity throughout the R&D process has become a decisive advantage,” said Tim Archer, president and CEO of Lam Research. The investment aims to compress product development cycles for customers, from pathfinding to fab deployment.

Lam’s global lab network supports over one million experiments annually. Facilities for foundational research in chemistries and materials can compress weeks of work into days. Process development labs and customer-proximate technology centers enable rapid qualification. In recent engagements, this approach shortened process development up to 2.5 times.

Micron Technology’s Scott De Boer praised the investment. Yole Group’s John West noted that AI demand lifts deposition and etch intensity, and Lam’s innovations help unlock the AI revolution. Lam plans to begin expanding this year.