The world's most complex machine

TLDR

• ASML is the sole maker of EUV lithography machines, which are required to manufacture the world’s most advanced chips.

Key Facts

• ASML’s EUV machines cost over $120 million each; shipping one requires 40 freight containers, three cargo planes, and 20 trucks.
• The company started as a Philips spinout in 1984 with no market share, nearly collapsed in 1988, and survived on a single board member’s advocacy.
• EUV development was rescued by a $270 million US public-private partnership led by Intel in 1997, which initially excluded non-American firms including ASML.
• EUV collapses up to 100 multi-patterning steps at the 5-nanometer node into far fewer, making it practically irreplaceable for leading-edge chip production.

Why It Matters

• Any country or company manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors depends entirely on a single Dutch supplier with no current alternative.
• ASML’s monopoly position grew from early outsourcing and modular design choices that were mocked at the time but proved decisive.

Neil Hacker / Works in Progress · 2026-04-23 · Read the original