The $400 million ASML 'printers' key for the AI chip boom

ASML is the dominant maker of deep ultraviolet (DUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, named for the wavelength of light they use to help zap the microscopic circuitry of chips onto silicon wafers.

In the DUV segment — where tools costing roughly $60 million each are used to make chips that go into industrial and consumer electronics — ASML has a market share above 80%, ahead of rivals Nikon and Canon of Japan.

It has a monopoly in the cutting-edge EUV segment, though rivals in China and the United States are trying to develop alternatives. Standard EUV tools cost around $200 million and are used today in the manufacture of most AI chips and leading-edge memory chips.

Chipmakers including Intel are testing ASML's newest "High NA" EUV tools, which will be used for new generations of AI chips with even smaller features in the coming five years. Only a handful have so far been made, with a price tag estimated at $350 million to $400 million each.