ASML
TL;DR ASML builds the world’s most advanced machines for creating microchips, which form the foundation of all modern AI computation.
ASML is one of the most critical yet often overlooked players in the AI ecosystem. Based in the Netherlands, this company designs and manufactures photolithography systems that enable the creation of cutting-edge semiconductors. These semiconductors power every AI model, from small embedded neural networks to the massive GPUs running advanced transformers. Without ASML’s technology, the AI revolution would grind to a halt.
ASML’s most important innovation is Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a complex process that uses extremely short-wavelength light to etch microscopic circuits onto silicon wafers. This allows chipmakers like NVIDIA, TSMC, and Intel to produce the dense, power-efficient processors required for deep learning and large-scale AI inference.
Through relentless innovation, ASML bridges the gap between materials science, optics, and machine precision, delivering tools so advanced that each EUV machine costs hundreds of millions of dollars and operates at the physical limits of light.
Developed EUV lithography, the essential process behind today’s 3 nm and smaller chips used in AI accelerators.
Powers the global semiconductor supply chain, enabling companies like NVIDIA, AMD, and Apple to advance AI hardware.
Achieved breakthroughs in nanometer-scale precision and high-throughput manufacturing, critical for AI hardware scalability.
Invests heavily in AI-driven metrology and process optimization, using AI to improve chip yield and equipment calibration.
Holds a near-monopoly on advanced lithography, making ASML one of the most strategically important companies in the world for AI progress.
