Explained: The $400 million ASML ‘printers’ key for the AI chip boom

ASML has become Europe’s most valuable company thanks to its dominance in making lithography systems, huge “chip printing” machines that can cost up to $400 million each and are indispensable to companies driving the AI boom.

Advances in AI ​and a global buildout of data centres have led chipmakers to expand capacity rapidly. ASML supplies tools to TSMC, which makes chips for Nvidia, as well as to memory chip makers like SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron.

The company is facing new challengers from China in the middle of its ‌product range, while ⁠it is ⁠also under pressure from the United States over exports of some of its tools to the Asian nation.