Applied Materials to invest $4 bln in Silicon Valley chip research center

SANTA CLARA, California May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) on Monday said it plans to spend up to $4 billion on a research center in the heart of Silicon Valley to speed up advances in semiconductor manufacturing. The center, which will be based in Sunnyvale, California, will come on line in 2026 and create up to 2,000 engineering jobs, said Applied, which is the world's biggest maker of the tools used in manufacturing chips. The facility will host about $25 billion of research work over...