It is European, but it is at the heart of the conflict between China and the United States for dominance of the artificial intelligence (AI) market. Regarded as a “critical” player in the global chip industry, ASML is highly profitable (posting €2.1 billion in profit in the third quarter of 2025), and the Netherlands, along with Eindhoven, the city where the company was founded, has spared no effort to prevent a possible relocation. With 43,000 employees worldwide and a market capitalization of €355 billion, ASML is one of the world’s leading tech giants.
Its extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, each costing €340 million, are essential for producing the most advanced microprocessors. Without them, no one in the world can manufacture the technologies needed to produce chips for generative AI.
Since 2024, when he succeeded Dutchman Peter Wennink, Frenchman Christophe Fourquet, 52, has led the company he joined 17 years ago. He spoke of the “growing uncertainties” facing ASML. The prospect of falling sales in China – a country that accounted for over 30% of its production – worries the CEO. Spending by mostly American tech giants on building AI data centers, even if their investments are in the tens of billions, will likely not offset this decline.
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