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ASML, founded as a Dutch start-up, is now the only commercial supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems used to make the most advanced computer chips. In 2025, it recognised revenue from 48 EUV systems and reported €32.7 billion in total sales; its rise depended on long-term research and a specialist supplier network.
Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML is the only commercial supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, the machines used to print the finest patterns in advanced chips, according to a MoneyWeek report. In 2025, ASML recognised revenue from 48 EUV systems and recorded €32.7 billion in total sales, illustrating how a start-up became central to the semiconductor supply chain.
An EUV lithography system uses light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometres to transfer tiny circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. The machines are roughly the size of a double-decker bus, weigh about 180 tonnes and cost more than €180 million, according to the report. Their scale and complexity reflect the difficulty of producing the light and optics needed for the process.
The report describes a system that fires lasers at tens of thousands of molten tin droplets every second. The resulting plasma emits EUV light, which is directed through an optical system to print chip patterns. That process supports the manufacture of the most advanced chips, though the source does not specify which customers received the systems or how many were delivered in 2025.
ASML does not make every part itself. It coordinates a supplier network assembled over decades: Germany’s Carl Zeiss makes key mirrors, while Trumpf supplies lasers used to generate EUV light. Other specialist firms provide components including wafer stages, sensors and software. ASML also reported €8.2 billion in servicing and upgrade revenue from its installed base in 2025, alongside sales from equipment.
Why Chipmakers Depend on ASML
ASML’s position matters because EUV equipment is an essential tool for producing the smallest patterns used in leading-edge chips. With no other commercial supplier identified in the report, chipmakers seeking to use this manufacturing process rely on machines from one company and on the supplier ecosystem that supports them. That makes ASML’s production capacity, technology and ability to maintain installed systems relevant well beyond the Netherlands.
The figures also show that the business is not limited to new machine sales. Servicing and upgrades generated €8.2 billion in 2025, giving ASML a substantial stream of revenue tied to equipment already in use. The reported €32.7 billion total is a historical result, not a forecast or guarantee of future performance.
The concentration of expertise across ASML and its suppliers also highlights a practical constraint in chip manufacturing: advanced production depends on specialised equipment and components that are not quickly interchangeable. The report documents the supplier relationships but does not quantify how a disruption at any one supplier would affect output or delivery schedules.
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From Start-Up to EUV Leadership
The MoneyWeek report frames ASML’s rise as a long industrial effort rather than a single breakthrough. EUV systems require components and expertise spanning optics, lasers, precision stages, sensors and software. ASML’s role is to bring those technologies together into a working lithography machine, while specialist companies supply critical parts.
The supplier network took decades to assemble, according to the report. Carl Zeiss’s mirrors and Trumpf’s lasers are examples of how the system rests on capabilities developed outside ASML as well as inside it. The source does not give a detailed founding timeline, identify specific research milestones, or explain how individual funding and policy decisions affected the technology’s development.
The company now combines sales of complex capital equipment with recurring work on its installed base. In 2025, it recognised revenue from 48 EUV systems and reported servicing and upgrades as part of total sales. These measures describe its business for that year; they do not, by themselves, establish how its sales compare with earlier years or indicate future growth.
“ASML is the only commercial supplier of EUV lithography systems.”
— MoneyWeek report
What the 2025 Figures Leave Open
The supplied report gives 2025 sales and system-revenue figures but does not provide a year-on-year comparison, profit figures, orders, deliveries, or a forecast. It is not clear from the source how many systems were shipped in 2025, as opposed to the number for which ASML recognised revenue, or how the total was divided among customers and regions.
The report identifies ASML as the only commercial EUV supplier, but offers no market-share data or discussion of possible future competitors. It also does not detail the timing of future machine orders, supplier capacity, or potential production bottlenecks. Those questions matter to the company’s outlook but cannot be answered from the information provided.
Orders, Output and Supplier Capacity
The next indicators to watch are ASML’s subsequent financial results and disclosures on orders, system shipments, servicing revenue and production capacity. Those updates would show whether the 2025 level of recognised EUV revenue is followed by changes in output or demand.
Further information from ASML and its suppliers could also clarify how the decades-built network is scaling to support chipmakers. The source material does not identify a specific upcoming announcement or milestone, so the timing and direction of those developments remain open.
Key Questions
What does ASML make?
ASML makes lithography equipment, including EUV systems that use extreme ultraviolet light to print fine patterns used in advanced chip manufacturing.
Why is ASML’s EUV position important?
The report identifies ASML as the only commercial supplier of EUV lithography systems. Chipmakers using this process therefore depend on ASML and its specialist supplier network for the equipment.
How much did ASML sell in 2025?
ASML reported €32.7 billion in total sales in 2025, including €8.2 billion from servicing and upgrading its installed base, according to the supplied report.
Does ASML make every part of its machines?
No. ASML coordinates suppliers including Carl Zeiss, which makes key mirrors, and Trumpf, which supplies lasers. Other firms provide parts such as wafer stages, sensors and software.
Source: rss
