Lam Research will launch a Korea-only semiconductor venture investment fund. Lam Research on Oct. 8 announced a plan to create the "Lam Research-Hana Semiconductor Unicorn Fund". The fund was jointly established by Hana Ventures and Lam Capital, Lam Research's corporate venture investment organisation.

This is the first time Lam Research has introduced a strategic semiconductor investment programme at a country level. The fund aims to find and invest in domestic startups and new-technology companies with growth potential and help them expand their businesses. Manufacturing AI, robotics, advanced packaging and new materials are the focus areas. The company said it chose technologies that will lead the future semiconductor industry as investment targets.

The plan is to link Lam Research's industry expertise and collaboration opportunities to support technology verification, commercialisation and entry into global markets. Lam Research operates a technology centre in South Korea that is a major research and development hub. It has also recently built the "Velocity Lab" to quickly verify new materials and co-develop ideas with customers, suppliers and partners.

Lam Research also disclosed its manufacturing record in South Korea. It shipped its 15,000th semiconductor manufacturing chamber made in South Korea. A chamber is an enclosed space where wafer processing takes place. The company said this was the result of 15 years of cooperation centred on three facilities in Osan, Hwaseong and Yongin in Gyeonggi province. Products and services procured from domestic partners last year totalled more than 1 trillion won. Many of the about 100 partners are small and medium-sized companies.

Lam Research has expanded its business base since opening its first office in South Korea in 1989 through research and development, manufacturing, supply chain cooperation and talent development. As of 2025, the economic effect created by its South Korean business was analysed at more than 13 trillion won. The company said the scale of direct and indirect job creation was more than 25,000.

Tim Archer (팀 아처), chairman and CEO of Lam Research, said Lam Research has continued investment over the past more than 40 years based on the competitiveness of South Korea's semiconductor ecosystem and its culture of collaboration. He said in the AI era, as demand increases and technological complexity expands, the pace of problem-solving across the ecosystem and the capability to apply new technologies to mass production are more important than ever. He added that the company will, through closer cooperation, deliver the speed customers demand and the innovation the industry needs.