# ASML Holding **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/asml-holding **Vertical:** Semiconductor Equipment **Subcategory:** Lithography Equipment **Tier:** Leader **Website:** asml.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary ASML (ASML) reported EUR 28.3B revenue in FY2024, up 3%. Market cap ~$350B. 43,000+ employees. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands. Founded 1984. Sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. ## Company Overview ASML Holding was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International in Veldhoven, Netherlands, and has since become one of the most strategically important companies in the global technology supply chain. ASML holds a complete monopoly on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines — the equipment required to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors at 7nm and below. No other company in the world produces EUV machines, making ASML an irreplaceable chokepoint in the production of chips that power AI, mobile devices, and data centers.\n\nASML's product portfolio centers on its EUV and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, which use light to etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers with nanometer precision. The company sells machines to every major chip foundry in the world — TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and SK Hynix — and its latest High-NA EUV systems enable the manufacturing of chips at angstrom-scale dimensions. Each EUV machine contains over 100,000 parts, takes years to build, and costs in excess of $200M, reflecting the engineering complexity that creates ASML's durable competitive moat.\n\nASML reported EUR 28.3B in revenue for full-year 2024 and employs over 43,000 people globally. With a market capitalization of approximately $350B, ASML ranks among the largest technology companies in Europe. Its monopoly position has drawn geopolitical attention — the Netherlands, under US pressure, has restricted ASML's ability to export advanced EUV machines to China — underscoring how central ASML's technology has become to global semiconductor competition and national security strategy. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is ASML? World's sole manufacturer of EUV lithography machines essential for producing the most advanced semiconductor chips. NASDAQ: ASML. ### How much do EUV machines cost? $350-400M for High-NA EUV systems. $150-200M for previous-generation EUV. ### Why is ASML so important? Without ASML's EUV machines, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel cannot produce chips at 7nm and below. ### What is ASML and why does it have a monopoly on EUV lithography? ASML is the world's only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines—the equipment required to print the most advanced semiconductor circuit patterns at 7nm and below. ASML's monopoly results from 30+ years of R&D investment, a global supply chain of over 5,000 specialized suppliers (including Carl Zeiss for optics and Cymer for light sources), and the extreme technical complexity of generating and controlling EUV light. Building a competing EUV system would take a decade and tens of billions of dollars. ### Why are ASML's EUV machines so expensive and complex? A single ASML EUV machine costs approximately $150–$380 million, uses tin plasma to generate EUV light at 13.5nm wavelength, requires mirror systems polished to atomic-scale smoothness, and operates in ultra-high vacuum. The machines ship in approximately 40 shipping containers and take months to install and calibrate. Each machine contains approximately 100,000 unique components from suppliers across Europe, Asia, and North America, making ASML the orchestrator of the most complex manufacturing supply chain in the world. ### How does geopolitics affect ASML's business? ASML's EUV machines are subject to export controls that prohibit sale to China—implemented by the Dutch government under US pressure. This means Chinese semiconductor manufacturers (SMIC) cannot access EUV technology, limiting their ability to manufacture chips below 7nm. ASML's revenues from China for older DUV (Deep UV) machines remain significant, and export control expansion has been an ongoing geopolitical and business risk for the company. ### What is ASML's High-NA EUV system and what does it enable? ASML's High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) EUV system is the next-generation lithography machine priced at approximately $350 million, enabling chip patterns at 2nm and below. Intel has been the first major customer for High-NA EUV systems, which are required for the next generation of chips beyond current 3nm nodes. Samsung and TSMC are expected to follow. High-NA systems represent ASML's growth runway for the second half of the 2020s. ### How important is ASML to AI chip production? Every advanced AI chip—NVIDIA H100/H200, AMD MI300X, Apple M-series, Google TPUs—is manufactured using ASML EUV lithography. Without ASML, no one can manufacture the chips that power AI training and inference at scale. ASML is arguably the single most critical non-AI company to the AI industry, sitting at the foundation of the semiconductor supply chain that makes everything else possible. ### What is ASML Holding? ASML is the world's only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines — the critical tools used to print the world's most advanced semiconductor chips. Every leading-edge chip (Apple, NVIDIA, AMD) is manufactured using ASML's EUV machines. ### Why is ASML a semiconductor monopoly? EUV lithography requires precisely controlling light wavelengths of 13.5 nanometers using a 100,000-component machine worth over $400M — technology so complex that only ASML has successfully commercialized it after 30+ years of development with €7B+ in cumulative R&D investment. ### What is ASML's revenue? ASML generates approximately €27B in annual revenue (2024), trading on NASDAQ under ASML and Euronext Amsterdam, with a market capitalization exceeding €200B and backlog extending years into the future from TSMC, Samsung, and Intel orders. ### What is the geopolitical significance of ASML? ASML is subject to Dutch and US export controls preventing EUV machine sales to China, making it a central instrument of semiconductor technology containment policy. The restriction limits China's ability to manufacture advanced chips, creating significant geopolitical tension. ### What is High-NA EUV? ASML's next-generation High-NA EUV system (the Twinscan EXE) uses higher numerical aperture optics to achieve sub-2nm patterning resolution — enabling the next generation of chips beyond what current EUV systems can produce, with TSMC and Intel as initial customers. ## Tags hardware, manufacturing, public, b2b --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*