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TSMC, Samsung commit to ASML’s newest chipmaking tools as AI drives demand

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Why This Matters

ASML's $400 million High NA EUV machines have long faced doubts about whether chipmakers would actually commit to them. With TSMC and Samsung now joining Intel as customers, the technology looks set to become the default path for the increasingly complex transistors AI chips require, and it removes a key uncertainty hanging over ASML's growth story after a 120% stock run.

Key Takeaways
Worth a Look

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Samsung said it would adopt the technology in 2030, adding that it would "extend the DRAM scaling roadmap" and make the process more efficient.

Samsung, one of the world's biggest memory chipmakers, said it would use ASML's machines to produce DRAM, a key type of memory, from 2028.

ASML's EUV lithography machines are critical tools that are used to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers during the chipmaking process. The High NA machines can print smaller and more intricate patterns. This tool can cost around $400 million.

Samsung and TSMC , the world's two biggest chipmakers, have committed to using ASML 's High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, as demand grows for more advanced chips.

TSMC said it would use ASML's tools for advanced chips and expects use of High NA machines to rise, "driven primarily by the increasingly complex transistor architectures required for AI applications."

Investors see the success of High NA EUV machines as key to ASML's future growth as the stock looks to extend a 120% run over the last year.

Barclays said in a note on Tuesday that the announcements "should provide more visibility on adoption which has been a key debate," adding that the news is "a positive."

Shares of Amsterdam-listed ASML were flat-to-lower in early trading on Tuesday.

Samsung and TSMC join Intel as customers for ASML's High NA machines. In July, ASML said that Intel is using the High NA EUV technology for advanced chip manufacturing.

ASML has not given a recent forecast on how many of the machines it expects to sell but has said that it will add about 30% capacity for EUV in total in 2027.

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