[News] Applied Materials Eyes 25% Southeast Asia Hiring Growth, Mostly in Singapore, Advances Packaging Efforts

Applied Materials is looking to expand its workforce in Southeast Asia. According to Nikkei, Brian Tan, the company’s corporate vice president and president for Southeast Asia, said Applied Materials plans to hire at least 1,000 additional employees across the region this year, representing a 25% increase in headcount, with most of the new hires based in Singapore.

The planned expansion builds on steady workforce growth in recent years. As the report notes, Tan said the company’s regional workforce stood at around 3,300 employees two years ago and had grown to nearly 4,000 by the end of 2025.

Singapore remains central to Applied Materials’ operations in the region. The company views it as its most important manufacturing base, with a substantial share of its semiconductor equipment assembled, produced, and shipped from the country. According to the report, Singapore has also emerged as a key R&D hub for Applied Materials, particularly for advanced packaging and assembly tools.

Beyond Singapore, Applied Materials is expanding its Southeast Asian supply chain network, with a growing presence in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, Tan said. Lam Research is making a similar push, having significantly expanded its manufacturing footprint in Penang, Malaysia, the report adds.

Despite accounting for only 2% of Applied Materials’ revenue in Q2 FY2026, Southeast Asia remains a growing focus for the company. By comparison, Taiwan was Applied Materials’ largest market in the quarter, contributing 27% of revenue, followed by Korea at 20% and Japan at 8%.

Applied Materials Expands Packaging Portfolio Through M&A and Glass Substrates

As Nikkei highlights, Applied Materials, the largest U.S. semiconductor equipment maker by revenue, supplies tools for processes such as ion implantation, deposition, polishing, and metrology, and has been steadily expanding its investment in advanced packaging technologies in recent years, including hybrid bonding. Notably, the company recently introduced a hybrid bonding tool for advanced chip packaging that was conceived, developed, and built in Singapore, the report notes.

The company is further strengthening its advanced packaging portfolio through M&A. According to ETNews, Applied Materials recently signed a deal to acquire the NEXX business unit of Singapore-based ASMPT, which develops panel-level plating equipment for semiconductor packaging. Sources cited by the report said the acquisition is expected to close within a few months, as it does not require separate regulatory approval. The report also notes that Applied Materials became the largest shareholder of Dutch hybrid bonding equipment supplier Besi in April last year after acquiring a 9% stake.

Applied Materials is also expanding its presence in glass substrates, another technology drawing growing attention. ETNews notes that the company has developed processing equipment for glass substrates. Because circuits must be patterned onto glass substrates much like they are on semiconductor wafers, the company is understood to have supplied next-generation lithography equipment to major glass substrate manufacturers for this purpose.

Read more

• [News] Applied Sees >30% Equipment Growth, >50% Packaging Surge in 2026; China Remains Top Market in 2Q
• [News] China Reportedly Sees Record 2025 Chip Tool Imports from Singapore, Malaysia; U.S. Hit Lowest Since 2017

(Photo credit: Applied Materials)