The global artificial intelligence boom is creating enormous demand for the machines used to manufacture advanced computer chips, with Dutch technology company ASML reporting that its existing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) systems are almost completely sold out through 2027.
ASML’s EUV machines, which can cost around $200 million each, are essential for producing some of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips. The company is now seeing growing interest in its next-generation High Numerical Aperture (High NA) EUV systems, which can cost around $400 million.
High NA technology allows chipmakers to create smaller and more sophisticated features on semiconductor wafers. ASML says the technology can print chip features around 40% smaller than those possible with its standard EUV systems.
Major chipmakers including TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix and Intel are moving toward High NA technology as they prepare for the next generation of processors and memory chips.
Intel has already begun using High NA EUV technology in high-volume manufacturing for selected layers of its Core Ultra Series 3 processors. ASML also says more than one million wafers have now been processed across High NA tool certification, research and development, testing and production efforts.
The surge in demand is closely connected to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. AI companies and data-centre operators require increasingly powerful processors, creating pressure throughout the semiconductor supply chain.
ASML remains uniquely positioned in the industry because it is the only company capable of producing the most advanced EUV lithography systems at commercial scale. Reuters reported that the company held about 94% of the global lithography market in 2025.
As AI development continues to accelerate, demand for advanced chip manufacturing equipment is expected to remain strong, putting ASML at the centre of the global technology race.
