Applied Materials said late Monday it will raise its stake in Dutch chip equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) to about 20% from the 9% it has held since April 2025, Euronews reported. It signed an accelerated share purchase agreement, with delivery depending on a review under US antitrust law. Besi shares rose more than 10% to over €160, though they remain about half their June peak of €317 amid a broader chip sell-off. Applied calls the stake a long-term investment, says it has no intention of going beyond about 20% and will not seek a board seat. Its semiconductor products president, Prabu Raja, said hybrid bonding and next-generation chip connection methods are becoming critical to energy-efficient AI computing, and the companies have collaborated on hybrid bonding since 2020. Staying below 30% avoids a mandatory offer for the whole company under Dutch takeover rules.
The AI buildout is also reaching bitcoin infrastructure. Luxor Technology raised $16 million in a round led by CMT Digital, with Canaan, MicroBT, Halo, Steelhead and angel investors taking part, The Block reported. It is Luxor’s first priced equity round since 2021, and headcount has grown from 11 to 106. The funds will go to sourcing GPUs and AI servers, expanding Luxor Cloud for AI agents and growing compute derivatives trading, including cash-settled options and forwards tied to compute-rental indexes. CEO Nick Hansen said “the same miners, power sites and capital that served digital mining are now powering AI.” No valuation was disclosed.
Financing conditions matter for that buildout. The ECB’s October bank lending survey, published on October 27, shows euro area banks tightened credit standards in the third quarter, with net tightening of 9% for firms and 14% for consumer credit, while housing loans were unchanged. Loan demand fell, with a net change of -6% for firms, -27% for housing loans and -2% for consumer credit, and interest rates were the main cause for housing. Banks expect further tightening and weaker demand in the fourth quarter, and their access to retail funding worsened by the largest margin since the series began in 2011. Yet banks expect a gradual, sustained rise in loan demand for AI infrastructure, particularly data centres. This is news, not investment advice.
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Sources:
- Euronews: Dutch chip firm Besi’s shares jump as Applied Materials moves to double stake
- The Block: Bitcoin mining infrastructure firm Luxor raises $16 million to expand AI business
- ECB: October 2026 euro area bank lending survey
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