It feels like a plot spun from the mind of a Hollywood screenwriter — a high-octane, geopolitical thriller tailormade for buttery popcorn and a two-hour escape from the daily demands of life.
Just consider the elevator pitch.
A multi-billion dollar company, headquartered in the Netherlands, manufactures some of the most unfathomably complex machines ever built. One machine in particular is so complex that not a single other company on the planet is able to produce it. Costing as much as $200 million per machine, only a handful of companies can even consider utilizing its immensely valuable technology.
But as humanity continues headlong towards an ever faster and ever more technologically-infused mode of life, this state of affairs seems untenable. And for at least one global superpower—who’s been denied access to this uber-advanced machine at the behest of another superpower—it’s downright unacceptable.
Intense, no? Grab the popcorn.
The crazy thing is that none of it is fiction, and the plot will likely become ever more complex as the decade progresses.
That’s because the company described above, and the circumstances surrounding it, is none other than ASML—a Dutch company that makes EUV lithography machines.
These spectacularly intricate machines make it possible to produce what’s often described as the world’s new oil: advanced microchips. From smart phones and EVs to MRI machines and common home appliances, our lives are dependent on these tiny, exquisitely crafted silicon chips.
Well known companies like Intel, TSMC, and Nvidia produce these chips. But who makes the machines that make the chips? More importantly, who makes the machines that make the ultra-advanced chips?
Enter ASML, the subject of this recent documentary from VPRO. Viewers are brought inside ASML’s headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, to see the magic behind the scenes.
Founded in 1984, ASML has grown into a unique company in the truest sense of the word. They do something that no other company in the world has been able to achieve: use EUV (extreme ultraviolet) light to create incredibly minute circuitry for microchips. Using wavelengths of 13.5 nanometers (far, far smaller than the size of a human hair ), this process ultimately allows for the creation of the most advanced chips on the market.
With a population under 50,000, Veldhoven’s milieu contrasts sharply with that of America’s Silicon Valley or China’s Shenzhen. Yet the company seems to be doing just fine when it comes to attracting talented people from all over the world. The company’s diverse culture includes 143 nationalities, a number that’s likely to increase given the company’s continuous demand for skilled workers.
The company’s headquarters does its best to offer all sorts of cuisines, activity centers, perks, and other attractions to help foster a community of cohesiveness and belonging. But for Arianne Bijma, who’s in charge of making sure that the company has the workforce it needs, what ultimately makes ASML function so well boils down to something simple: “Everyone speaks the same language—technology.”
Given the staggering complexity of the machines, there’s surely also a deeply shared passion for problem-solving and collaboration. The technology involved is far too complex to tackle in a silo.
Even the people who work on the machines day in and day don’t claim to grasp them in their entirety. “The systems are so complicated that you could spend a lifetime…figuring out how everything works,” says one technician. It’s a sentiment that many others within the company seem to share.
The global importance that ASML now basks in hasn’t come from nowhere. For three decades now, ASML has spent billions of dollars on R&D; at times, their future was uncertain. Yet they were able to stay afloat and gradually attract bigger and bigger players. And now, here they are: one of those most critically important companies in the world.
The Trump White House, and now the Biden White House, has been forthright about its stance regarding ASML and China: We do not want these advanced EUV machines sold to the rising global superpower. ASML and the Dutch government have, so far, made this a reality.
But moves like this of course also generate reactions. In May of this year, China placed restrictions on imports from Micron, the chip behemoth in Boise, Idaho. This back and forth will surely go through all sorts of iterations as the “Tech Cold War” continues.
Putting aside geopolitics, and even the incredible technology underpinning ASMLS machines, it’s mind-blowing to consider just how large and complex (and impressive) the logistics behind it is.
Per ASMR’s website, the delivery of one of their EUV lithography machines involves nothing less than “40 freight containers, three cargo planes and 20 trucks.” When you consider that ASML uses over 500 suppliers to build the machines in the first place, the cumulative web of people, skill sets, and countries is incredible.
It’s rather humbling to consider just how much goes on behind the curtains when it comes to even our most ubiquitous devices.
Spectatio 