ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet Says No One Is Coming for ASML’s EUV Monopoly

ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography machines are described as the only systems capable of printing the microscopic patterns on silicon wafers that define leading-edge AI chips, making the company a central bottleneck in the AI supply chain. The TechCrunch interview with ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet says the machines are “roughly the size of a school bus,” take “months to assemble,” and cost “anywhere from $200 million to upwards of $400 million apiece.” The Cryptopolitan article similarly frames ASML as the sole producer of EUV lithography machines used for advanced AI chip production, adding that Nvidia’s Blackwell chips depend on ASML’s EUV systems. It also states that in the broader lithography market, ASML controls about “90% della quota globale,” and that EUV systems are used to produce the most advanced semiconductors.

“Key information - ASML's EUV lithography machines are essential to manufacturing the advanced chips powering the AI revolution”

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Fouquet told TechCrunch that the demand for ASML’s machines has surged to the point where “the world won’t have enough chips for years,” and he linked the bottleneck to chip manufacturing capacity. In the same interview, he responded to TSMC’s complaint that ASML’s latest machines are too expensive by saying, “We can get 20%, 30% cost reduction.” The Startup Fortune piece attributes ASML’s competitive position to physics and accumulated expertise rather than capital alone, describing EUV systems that produce light at “13.5-nanometer wavelengths” by firing a laser at tin droplets “50,000 times per second.” It also claims that ASML’s EUV monopoly is protected by barriers that are “not primarily financial,” even if a challenger commits “$20 billion” to build a rival.

Multiple articles connect ASML’s EUV role to geopolitical constraints, including export controls that restrict shipments to China. The Startup Fortune piece says the Dutch government, “under pressure from the United States,” has restricted ASML from shipping EUV machines to China since 2019, and that restrictions “progressively tightened” to include Deep UV lithography machines. It further states that China’s response has been to invest “approximately $100 billion” in domestic semiconductor equipment development through companies like SMEE, while adding that independent assessments place SMEE “10 to 15 years behind ASML’s current EUV capability.” In parallel, the Cryptopolitan article reports ASML’s financial momentum, saying the company recorded “13,2 miliardi di euro nel quarto trimestre del 2025,” including “7,4 miliardi di euro” made through light vehicles (EUV), and it notes that EUV systems represented “7,4 miliardi di euro su un totale di 13,2 miliardi di euro” in that quarter.

“ASML Holding (ASML) sits at a strange intersection of cyclical and structural”

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