ASML controls a critical chokepoint in the global semiconductor industry through its long-term investment in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The Dutch firm spent decades developing this complex technology to manufacture the world's most advanced chips.
This strategy secured ASML a global monopoly on EUV machines. Each unit sells for over $120 million. Leading chipmakers including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel require these machines for cutting-edge production.
Strategic partnerships accelerated the technology's commercialization. A 1990s U.S. government-backed public-private partnership funded early research. A close collaboration with Taiwan’s TSMC proved essential for bringing the machines to market.
ASML now functions as a significant geopolitical player in the tech rivalry between the U.S. and China. Global semiconductor manufacturing depends entirely on these bus-sized machines.