# Dr. David K. Lam

> David K. Lam is an American semiconductor equipment entrepreneur, founder and first CEO of Lam Research, and founder, chairman and CEO of Multibeam. He took Lam Research public in 1984, later established the David Lam Group to advise and invest in technology businesses, and now leads work on multicolumn electron-beam lithography for maskless semiconductor manufacturing.

- **Role:** Founder, Chairman and CEO at Multibeam Corporation
- **Organizations:** Multibeam Corporation, Lam Research Corporation, David Lam Group, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, Asia America Multitechnology Association
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BASc, Engineering Physics, University of Toronto, SM, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ScD, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Founded Lam Research in 1980 and led its initial plasma etch system commercialization., Became the first Asian American CEO to take a company public on Nasdaq in 1984, as documented by MOCA and SVEC., Inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame in 2013.

## Career timeline

- **1974** — Joined Texas Instruments in Dallas, working on wafer fabrication and plasma etching equipment.
- **1976** — Joined Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto and worked on automated plasma etching.
- **1980** — Founded Lam Research and served as its first CEO.
- **1984** — Took Lam Research public on Nasdaq.
- **1989** — Appointed to the U.S. Minority Business Development Commission by President George H. W. Bush.
- **1994** — Joined the Presidential Business Development Mission to China led by Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
- **1995** — Formed the David Lam Group to provide growth management advice and investment.
- **2013** — Inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.
- **2022** — Received the Museum of Chinese in America Legacy Award.
- **2026** — Continues as Multibeam chairman and CEO as the company announces its MBX platform and Taiwan order.

## Achievements

- Founded Lam Research in 1980 and led its initial plasma etch system commercialization.
- Became the first Asian American CEO to take a company public on Nasdaq in 1984, as documented by MOCA and SVEC.
- Inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame in 2013.
- Received the Museum of Chinese in America Legacy Award in 2022.
- Multibeam credits him with more than 20 patents in e-beam technology and applications.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Multibeam appointed David J. Lam, the subject’s son, interim CFO and described up to $205 million in funding and financing, including a proposed $140 million federal component under a letter of intent.
- **2026-07** — Multibeam signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $140 million in proposed funding for advanced packaging R&D.
- **2026-07** — Multibeam announced National Tsing Hua University’s order for its MBX platform, with shipment planned for 2027.

## Links

- Website: https://multibeamcorp.com/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-k-lam
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25