The Tradition of Knowledge Behind ASML - by Samo Burja
Europe’s most valuable tech company is the only manufacturer of the machines needed to make advanced computer chips. This market monopoly rests on a Dutch tradition of knowledge and industrial policy.
ASML engineers working on photolithography machinery in a “clean room.” Photo courtesy of ASML. Source. ASML is a publicly-traded Dutch technology company with a market capitalization of $236 billion as of October 2023, making it Europe’s largest tech company.1 Headquartered in a suburb of the small city of Eindhoven, the semiconductor company is one of the largest global suppliers of photolithography machines, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to create the required patterns on silicon wafers used in computer chips. ASML also holds a monopoly on the development and…
related reading
- ASML | The world's supplier to the semiconductor industryasml.com
- ASML’s boss has a warning for Europeeconomist.com
- AI Value Chain Champions & Bottleneckstechinvestments.io
- Deep Dive: Building an American TSMC | Contrary Researchresearch.contrary.com
- How to Build a $20 Billion Semiconductor Fabconstruction-physics.com
- Chips and China – Stratechery by Ben Thompsonstratechery.com
- Jon Y (Asianometry) on Problems And Progress in Semiconductor Manufacturing - Hear This Ideahearthisidea.com
- Always Be Curious #305: EUV's engineering story, earnings bonanza, and prediagnostic AIalwaysbecurious.substack.com
- Our purpose - Substratesubstrate.com
- EUV lithographyen.wikipedia.org
- Dylan Patel — Deep dive on the 3 big bottlenecks to scaling AI computedwarkesh.com
- Slowing Moore’s Law: How It Could Happen · Gwern.netgwern.net