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ASML's $400 million EUV lithography machines: The monopoly powering AI chip manufacturing

Clive Thompson

4d ago· 24 min readenInsight

technology business

Summary

ASML, a Dutch company, holds a monopoly on the advanced lithography machines essential for manufacturing cutting-edge microchips used in AI and smartphones. The article profiles Jos Benschop, ASML's executive vice president of technology, and their $400 million extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine—a massive, precision-engineered device that positions mirrors with atomic accuracy. As the AI era demands ever faster and more powerful chips, ASML's dominance in this critical technology raises questions about whether competitors can catch up.

Source

bskyASML's $400 million EUV lithography machines: The monopoly powering AI chip manufacturingtechnologyreview.com

Key quotes

· 2 pulled

Benschop, a tall and grizzled 66-year-old, has spent over a decade working with his engineers to design this thing, but even so, he'll sometimes look at it and go: Oh my God.

It's more than 200 cubic meters of tech—'mechatronic devices that hold a few mirrors in a position with atomic precision,' he says, gesturing at the gargantuan apparatus.

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The AI era needs ever faster chips. ASML has a monopoly on the expensive contraptions needed to pattern them. Can anyone catch up?

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