Exclusive-ASML plots future of chipmaking tools for AI beyond EUV

By Max A. Cherney

SAN JOSE, California, March 2 (Reuters) - ASML Holding has ambitious plans to expand its line of chipmaking equipment into several new products to capture more of the rapidly growing market for artificial intelligence chips, a senior executive told Reuters.

More than a decade in development, ASML is the only maker of extreme ‌ultraviolet, or EUV, equipment, which is crucial for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Intel in manufacturing the world's most advanced AI chips. ASML has poured billions of dollars into ‌developing the EUV systems, has a next-generation product nearing production and is researching a third potential generation.

The Dutch company is looking to grow beyond its EUV roots and plans to expand into the market to make tools that can help ​glue and connect multiple specialized chips, called advanced packaging - a key building block for AI chips and the advanced memory that feeds them. As part of those plans, the company will deploy AI in its forthcoming businesses and legacy efforts.

"We look, not just for the next five years, we look at the next 10, maybe 15 years," ASML Chief Technology Officer Marco Pieters told Reuters. "(We look at) what are potential directions the industry could take, and what would it require in terms of packaging, bonding, etc.?"

The EUV machines ASML builds are used for lithography, the process of using light to print complex patterns onto ‌silicon wafers to make chips. The company also plans to determine whether ⁠it can expand the maximum size of chips it can print beyond its current boundary - roughly the size of a postage stamp - which limits its speed.

NEW TECH BOSS

In October, the company promoted Pieters to CTO, replacing Martin van den Brink, who had a roughly 40-year run as head of the technology ⁠unit. ASML also said in January it reorganized its technology business to prioritize engineering roles versus management.

Investors have priced into the stock the company's dominance in EUV and have lofty expectations for Pieters and CEO Christophe Fouquet, who was appointed in 2024. Shares trade at roughly 40 times forward earnings, compared with Nvidia, which trades at about 22 times earnings.

The $560-billion-market cap company's shares have gained more than 30% this year.

ASML is stepping up ​plans ​to build machines that help package chips and beginning to develop chipmaking tools that can help build newer ​generations of advanced AI processors.

"We're actually researching that - to what extent can we ‌participate in it, or what we can add to that part of the business," Pieters said.