# Besi hybrid bonding systems by Besi (BE Semiconductor Industries) Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/computing/hybrid-bonding Frontier: [Computing](https://technooptimist.io/computing.md) · Field: Advanced packaging · Company: [Besi (BE Semiconductor Industries)](https://technooptimist.io/companies/besi.md) Stage: Scaling (5 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-10-06, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Make 3D chip stacking a volume process: replacing solder bumps with direct copper bonds packs far more connections between stacked chips, using less power and shedding heat better. Status: Shipping to logic makers for AI chips; orders doubled in H1 2026, but HBM adoption slipped to HBM5. Next milestone: Hybrid bonding enters HBM (pushed back to HBM5 by SK hynix) ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | Collaboration with Applied Materials on hybrid bonding begins | 2020 | | | Done | Order for 26 systems (100 nm accuracy) from a top logic maker | 9 May 2024 | | | Done | Applied Materials takes a 9% stake | 14 Apr 2025 | | | Done | Kinex integrated die-to-wafer bonder launched with Applied | 2025 | | | Done | Over 150 hybrid bonders ordered in total | 2025 | | | Done | Partnership widened: Besi joins Applied's EPIC Center | 1 Oct 2026 | | | Planned | Hybrid bonding enters HBM (pushed back to HBM5 by SK hynix) | | | ## Most important updates - **6 Oct 2026**: Bank of America downgrades Besi, citing ASML's interest in hybrid bonding. Bank of America cut Besi to neutral and nearly halved its price target, saying ASML's study of hybrid bonding is a threat not priced into the stock. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/bank-of-america-downgrades-besi-citing-asml-s-interest-in-hybrid-bonding-43fb183f.md) · [original source](https://thenextweb.com/news/besi-asml-hybrid-bonding-dutch)) - **1 Oct 2026**: Besi joins Applied Materials' EPIC Center, widening their hybrid bonding partnership. Besi became an Innovation Partner at Applied Materials' EPIC Center in Silicon Valley, extending a collaboration that began in 2020 at a joint hybrid bonding centre in Singapore and produced Kinex. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/besi-joins-applied-materials-epic-center-widening-their-hybrid-bonding-d4ed2d9a.md) · [original source](https://finviz.com/news/397813/applied-materials-and-besi-expand-strategic-partnership-to-advance-next-generation-packaging-for-ai-scaling)) - **26 Aug 2026**: SK hynix pushes hybrid bonding in HBM back to HBM5, delaying a key market for Besi. At Hot Chips 2026, SK hynix said it will keep microbump stacking through HBM4E and move to hybrid bonding a generation later. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/sk-hynix-pushes-hybrid-bonding-in-hbm-back-to-hbm5-delaying-a-key-9637cdf3.md) · [original source](https://bits-chips.com/article/besi-faces-longer-wait-as-sk-hynix-pushes-hybrid-bonding-to-hbm5/)) - **14 Apr 2025**: Applied Materials buys 9% of Besi to deepen their hybrid bonding partnership. Applied Materials bought 9% of Besi's shares on the market, building on a collaboration since 2020 to make the first fully integrated equipment for die-based hybrid bonding. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/applied-materials-buys-9-of-besi-to-deepen-their-hybrid-bonding-5ddfdfe9.md) · [original source](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6951/000119312525080269/d939298dex991.htm)) - **9 May 2024**: Besi wins order for 26 hybrid bonding systems from a leading logic chipmaker. Besi received an order for 26 hybrid bonding systems from an unnamed leading logic manufacturer, for its newest machine with 100 nm placement accuracy. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/besi-wins-order-for-26-hybrid-bonding-systems-from-a-leading-logic-c8273d2c.md) · [original source](https://live.euronext.com/sites/default/files/company_press_releases/attachments/2024/05/09/Connect_hb-orders-may-2024.pdf)) ## Current obstacles - **Speed and yield at volume**: One particle or a few nanometres of misalignment ruins a bond, and every die is placed one at a time, which caps tools' output. - **Memory makers wait a generation**: A JEDEC change let HBM stacks grow to 775 microns, removing pressure to thin dies; SK hynix now keeps microbumps through HBM4E. - **New rivals may enter**: ASML has said it is studying hybrid bonding; Bank of America cut Besi to neutral in Oct 2026 citing the threat. ## Physics limits - **Flatness at the atomic scale**: Two surfaces only bond if they are almost perfectly flat across the whole die. Any warp, dust or copper dishing leaves voids that break connections. - **Alignment shrinks with pitch**: Placement error must stay a small fraction of the pad spacing. Each halving of pitch, which quadruples connection density, demands roughly twice the accuracy. - **Stacking multiplies risk**: Every added layer is another bond that must be perfect. Yield of a 16-die stack is the product of 15 bonds, so small per-bond losses compound fast. ## How it works ### Prepare: Polish, clean and activate Both surfaces are polished flat to the atom, cleaned and plasma-treated so the glassy insulator around each copper pad will stick on contact. ### Place: Align each die to 100 nm The bonder picks a finished chip and lays it on a wafer of other chips, lining up thousands of copper pads to within a tenth of a micron. ### Fuse: Insulator bonds, then copper The insulators bond at room temperature; a later bake expands the copper so facing pads fuse into one metal joint with no solder. ### Why: More wires, less heat Without bumps, pads can sit much closer, so far more connections fit between chips, signals travel shorter paths and heat crosses fewer layers. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Besi hybrid bonding systems | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Placement accuracy | 100 nm | reported | | Hybrid bonders ordered (to end 2025) | Over 150 | reported | | Company orders, H1 2026 | €562.6M (+116.5% y/y) | reported | | Company revenue, Q2 2026 | €249.9M (+68.7% y/y) | reported | | Tools by 2030, optimistic case | More than 2,000 | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Besi (BE Semiconductor Industries) Besi is a Dutch maker of chip assembly machines. Its hybrid bonders, which fuse stacked chips copper to copper with no solder, are the leading tool for 3D chip stacking in AI processors and future memory. - H1 2026 orders €562.6M, up 116.5% on H1 2025, led by hybrid bonding, photonics and data-centre computing. - Applied Materials owns 9% and co-develops Kinex, an integrated die-to-wafer hybrid bonding line. - SK hynix pushed hybrid bonding in HBM back a generation (Aug 2026), delaying Besi's memory upside. - Founded: 1995 - Headquarters: NL - Status: public - Listing: BESI (Euronext) - Website: https://www.besi.com - People: Richard Blickman (Founder, President & CEO) - Partners, customers, investors: Applied Materials (investor); SK hynix (customer); TSMC (customer); NHanced Semiconductors (customer) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/besi.md ## Related programs Everything in Computing: https://technooptimist.io/computing.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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