ASML Holding

History[edit]

The company, originally named ASM Lithography, is named ASML as its official name and not an abbreviation.^[19] It was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between the Dutch companies ASM and Philips. Nowadays it is a public company. When the company became independent in 1988, it was decided that changing the name was not desirable, and the abbreviation ASML became the official company name.^[20]


ASML released the lithography system PAS 5500 in 1991, which became an extremely successful platform for the company.^[21] The PAS 5500 was first utilized by Micron Technology, which was one of the world's largest producers of computer memory and storage, and ASML's largest customer at that time.^[22] The success of the PAS 5500 line propelled ASML into strong competition with Canon and Nikon, who were the leaders in that era of the lithography market.^[21]


In 1997, ASML began studying a shift to using extreme ultraviolet and in 1999 joined a consortium including Intel, two other U.S. chipmakers, in order to exploit fundamental research conducted by the US Department of Energy. Because of the CRADA it operates under is funded by the US taxpayer, licensing must be approved by Congress. It collaborated with the Belgian Imec and Sematech and turned to Carl Zeiss in Germany for its need of mirrors.^[23]


In 2000, ASML acquired the Silicon Valley Group (SVG), a US lithography equipment manufacturer also licensed for EUV research results, in a bid to supply 193 nm scanners to Intel Corp.^[24][25]


In 2002, it became the largest supplier of photolithography systems.^[26]


At the end of 2008, ASML experienced a large drop in sales, which led management to cut the workforce by about 1000 worldwide, mostly contract workers^[27] and to apply for support from the Dutch national unemployment fund to prevent even larger layoffs.^[28] Two and a half years later, ASML expected a record-high revenue.^[29]


In July 2012, Intel announced a deal to invest $4.1 billion into ASML in exchange for 15% ownership, in order to speed up the transition from 300 mm to 450 mm wafers and further development of EUV lithography.^[30][31] This deal was without exclusive rights to future ASML products and, as of July 2012, ASML was offering another 10% of the shares to other companies.^[32] As part of their EUV strategy, ASML announced the acquisition of DUV and EUV sources manufacturer Cymer in October 2012.^[33]


In November 2013, ASML paused development of 450 mm lithography equipment, citing uncertain timing of chipmaker demand.^[34]


In 2015, ASML suffered intellectual property theft. A number of employees had been found stealing confidential data from its Silicon Valley software subsidiary that develops software for machine optimization.^[35]


In June 2016, ASML announced their plans to acquire Taiwan-based Hermes Microvision Inc. for about $3.1 billion to add technology for creating smaller and more advanced semiconductors.^[36]


In 2018, the Trump administration tried to block the sale of ASML technology to China,^[37] but as of 2021, the 2020–present global chip shortage as well as the "technological cold war" between the US and China has been a business opportunity for ASML.^[17]


In November 2020, ASML revealed that it had acquired the German optical glassmaking firm Berliner Glas Group in order to meet increasing need for components for its EUV systems.^[38]


In July 2021, Thierry Breton European Commissioner, visited ASML and announced a goal of at least 20% of world production of semiconductors in Europe by 2030, and support via a European Alliance on semiconductors.^[39] After reporting earnings in July 2021, the company said they had a near monopoly for machines used by TSMC and Samsung Electronics to make the advanced chips.^[40]


In February 2023, ASML claimed that a former worker in China "allegedly" stole information about the company's technology. This wasn't the first time that ASML was allegedly linked with an intellectual property breach connected to China, and this latest breach came in the midst of the US-China trade war, which is also called a "chip war".^[41] At the time, the United States Department of Commerce expressed concern about economic espionage against ASML.^[42] In October 2023, Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported that the former employee who "allegedly" stole data about ASML's technology subsequently went to work for Huawei.^[43]


In March 2023, the Dutch government placed restrictions on chip exports in order to protect national security. This measure affected ASML as one of the most important companies in the global microchip supply chain.^[44] Export license requirements came into effect in September 2023.^[45]


In June 2023, the Netherlands' Institute for Human Rights ruled that despite the country's constitution prohibiting discrimination based on nationality, ASML was allowed to reject job applications from residents of countries subject to sanctions under the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria) in order to remain compliant with U.S. law.^[46][47][48]


In January 2024, the Dutch government placed further restrictions on the shipment of some advanced chip-making equipment to China.^[49]