ASML, a European lithography equipment company, has become a key player in the development of artificial intelligence. Although manufacturing only 60 machines per year may seem like a small number, these are indispensable for producing the most advanced chips that power data centers. The Dutch company is the world's sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, necessary for manufacturing high-performance semiconductors.
Extreme lithography: how a machine defines the future of semiconductors 🔬
ASML's EUV machines use light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers to etch microscopic patterns onto silicon wafers. This process allows for the creation of transistors so small that billions fit on a single chip. Each unit costs around 200 million euros and requires global supply chains. Without these machines, the high-performance processors that drive large language models and deep learning systems would not exist.
60 machines per year: the most expensive bottleneck on the planet ⏳
ASML produces only 60 of these technological beasts per year, making them a more exclusive object of desire than a luxury yacht. While we all wait for AI to solve climate change, the real bottleneck is that a company in the Netherlands can barely assemble one machine per week. If AI had to wait its turn, even ChatGPT would grab a coffee while ASML finishes the order.