Aug 13 (Reuters) - Lam Research ( LRCX ) said on Thursday it

intends to invest more than $3 billion in the next five years to

expand its global research and development lab network, as it

seeks to increase experiment capacity and speed up product

development.

The U.S. chip equipment maker said the multi-site expansion

is expected to increase its experiment capacity by over 50%.

Here are some details:

* AI-focused spending by major technology companies has

fueled demand for advanced chips, boosting investment in the

equipment used to manufacture them.

* Lam Research ( LRCX ) is making the investment with the intention

of staying ahead of customers' needs as the pace of innovation

requires chips with new architectures, different materials and

complex features engineered with nanoscale precision, CEO Tim

Archer said.

* Lam supplies deposition, etch and cleaning equipment used

to build the microscopic layers and patterns that form the

circuits inside semiconductor chips.

* The company said its global lab network, which spans the

U.S., Asia and Europe, supports over 1 million experiments

annually.

* The integrated lab network has helped shorten process

development by up to 2.5 times in recent customer engagements,

Lam said.

* The company plans to begin expanding the lab network this

year, with the goal of increasing innovation velocity.