ASML is the world’s undisputed leader in the design and provision of advanced chip-making equipment. The manufacture of the most state-of-the-art semiconductors by industry titans like TSMC, Intel, and Samsung is highly reliant on equipment from this Dutch firm, founded in 1984. However, like many household names in tech, ASML has quite a humble origin story. In ASML’s case, company lore states that it all began in a “leaky shed.”
The current kings of the lithography machine world, ASML (Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography), started as a collaboration between Philips, a household name in the electronics business, and Advanced Semiconductor Materials International (ASMI). The vision was to set up a new company laser-focused on lithography systems, which the partners identified as a growing market.
