ASML Holding is today a key company in the global semiconductor industry. It is in fact the main multinational company that supplies photolithography systems that are fundamental in the chip production process. Based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML develops and manufactures the most advanced lithographic machines, used by all major chip manufacturers to print the patterns that form transistors and circuits on silicon wafers. Its relevance to the global value chain is due to its global market share in lithographic equipment which is more than 90%. Its systems integrate thousands of components from a highly specialised supply ecosystem, including a long-standing strategic partnership with Carl Zeiss SMT, which provides the ultra-precise mirrors needed to manipulate EUV light.
