ASML Holding NV
Company History
ASML Holding History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1984 in Veldhoven, Netherlands
When was ASML Holding founded?
ASML Holding was founded in 1984 in Veldhoven, Netherlands by Philips Electronics and Arthur del Prado, making it 42 years old.
- Founded
- 1984
- Founding place
- Veldhoven, Netherlands
- Founders
- Philips Electronics and Arthur del Prado
- Headquarters today
- Veldhoven, Netherlands
- Milestones documented
- 15 (1984–2025)
- Current CEO
- Christophe Fouquet
- Acquisitions
- 5
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Founded as ASM Lithography in Eindhoven |
| 1986 | PAS 2500 stepper and the Carl Zeiss partnership |
| 1988 | ASM International withdraws and Philips funds a rescue |
| 1991 | PAS 5500 platform turns the company around |
| 1995 | IPO in Amsterdam and on Nasdaq |
| 2001 | TWINSCAN platform launched and Silicon Valley Group acquired |
| 2003 | First immersion lithography system |
| 2010 | First EUV prototype shipped |
| 2012 | Customer Co-Investment Program with Intel, TSMC and Samsung |
| 2013 | Cymer acquisition completed and second-generation EUV shipped |
| 2017 | EUV enters high-volume manufacturing |
| 2019 | Dutch government stops EUV exports to China |
| 2023 | First High-NA EUV system shipped |
| 2024 | Christophe Fouquet becomes chief executive |
| 2025 | Record year, first EXE:5200B and Mistral AI investment |
- Where was ASML Holding founded?
- ASML Holding was founded in Veldhoven, Netherlands in 1984.
- Who founded ASML Holding?
- ASML Holding was founded by Philips Electronics and Arthur del Prado.
- When did ASML Holding start?
- ASML Holding was founded in 1984.
- How old is ASML Holding?
- ASML Holding is 42 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 1984 Philips had a wafer stepper project, the PAS 2000, that it could not afford to commercialize alone. It spun the project into a 50-50 joint venture with ASM International, the company Arthur del Prado had built, and called it ASM Lithography. Operations began on April 1, 1984 in the Philips Strijp TQ building in Eindhoven, with 47 of the 50 engineers from the Philips wafer stepper group; sheds were added as the startup outgrew the space, and it moved to purpose-built premises in Veldhoven in 1985. The first years were precarious. ASM International stopped funding the venture in 1988 and only a final 30 million guilder investment from Philips kept it alive. Survival came from a choice that became the company strategy: rather than build everything in-house like its Japanese rivals, ASML acted as a systems integrator, buying optics from Carl Zeiss from 1986 and light sources from Cymer, which let it iterate faster than Nikon and Canon.
Founders
Philips Electronics
ASML was not founded by an individual with a vision. It was an underfunded joint venture between a conglomerate that wanted a project off its books and a smaller equipment company that wanted into lithography. Philips had developed a wafer stepper, the PAS 2000, out of the Silicon Repeater prototypes at Philips Research, but the project was small inside Philips, over budget and behind schedule, and the corporation was under severe financial pressure. Philips first pursued a partnership with the market leader Perkin Elmer, which wanted the leading role in sales and service; Philips would not grant access to Philips Research in a subordinate position and the talks dragged on until Perkin Elmer partnered with Censor instead. Philips then returned to ASM International, the company Arthur del Prado had built, which it had previously judged too junior, and the two agreed terms quickly. They announced the joint venture on September 5, 1983 and ASM Lithography commenced operations on April 1, 1984, initially in the Philips Strijp TQ building in Eindhoven, with Gjalt Smit brought in as managing director. Of the 50 engineers in the Philips wafer stepper group, 47 signed on, many of them reluctantly, since they were giving up jobs for life at Philips for a startup with no market access and a machine that had to be redesigned. Sheds were added as the company outgrew the building, and it moved into purpose-built premises in Veldhoven in 1985. The decisions that mattered came next: buying optics from Carl Zeiss from 1986 instead of building them, and later light sources from Cymer, which let ASML iterate faster than the vertically integrated Nikon and Canon. That systems integration model carried it through near-collapse in 1988, the PAS 5500 turnaround in 1991, TWINSCAN in 2001, immersion in 2003 and finally roughly two decades of EUV development. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Arthur del Prado
Del Prado contribution to ASML was structural and financial rather than technical. ASM International supplied half the equity, the corporate structure and existing relationships in the semiconductor equipment industry, and adding lithography would have made ASM close to a one-stop shop for chipmaking equipment. Philips had initially dismissed ASM as an upstart and preferred Perkin Elmer; only when those talks collapsed did Philips Science & Industry technical director Georg de Kruyff resume discussions with del Prado in the spring of 1983, and the two sides agreed terms quickly. The investment proved heavier than ASM could sustain. By 1988, with ASML still short of customers and consuming cash, ASM International withdrew from the venture, and Philips funded the rescue that kept it alive. Del Prado remains recognized as a founding figure of the Dutch and European semiconductor equipment industry. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Founded as ASM Lithography in Eindhoven
ASM Lithography starts operations on April 1, 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International, with the mandate to commercialize the PAS 2000 wafer stepper developed inside Philips. Of the 50 engineers in the Philips Science & Industry wafer stepper group, 47 join the new company, which is initially housed in the Philips Strijp TQ building in Eindhoven. Gjalt Smit is brought in as managing director.
Source: asml.comPAS 2500 stepper and the Carl Zeiss partnership
ASML brings the PAS 2500 stepper to market with a new wafer alignment system developed by first chief scientist Steef Wittekoek, and establishes the optics partnership with Carl Zeiss that still supplies every ASML lithography system. The company had moved into its purpose-built office and factory in Veldhoven in 1985 with about 100 employees.
Source: asml.comASM International withdraws and Philips funds a rescue
With few customers and heavy cash consumption, ASM International decides to stop funding the joint venture while Philips launches a company-wide cost-cutting program. Philips board member Henk Bodt persuades Philips chief executive Jan Timmer to approve a final investment of 30 million guilders, which keeps ASML alive and pays for finishing the PAS 5500.
Source: asml.comPAS 5500 platform turns the company around
ASML launches the PAS 5500 platform, whose productivity and resolution win the first large orders from Intel and IBM under chief executive Willem Maris and take the company to profitability. PAS 5500 systems are still running in customer fabs decades later.
Source: asml.comIPO in Amsterdam and on Nasdaq
ASML becomes a fully independent public company with a dual listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Philips sells half of its shares at the IPO and divests the remainder over the following years. The proceeds fund expanded R&D and production at De Run in Veldhoven, which becomes the company headquarters.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTWINSCAN platform launched and Silicon Valley Group acquired
ASML introduces the TWINSCAN dual-stage architecture, which exposes one wafer while the next is measured and aligned, lifting throughput and overlay accuracy above competing systems. In the same year ASML completes the acquisition of Silicon Valley Group, the largest American lithography equipment maker, for about 1.6 billion dollars in stock.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFirst immersion lithography system
The TWINSCAN AT:1150i debuts as ASML's first immersion machine, projecting 193 nanometer light through a layer of ultrapure water between the lens and the wafer to raise resolution. The XT:1250i and XT:1400i follow, the XT:1700i becomes the first volume production immersion system in 2006, and the XT:1900i reaches a numerical aperture of 1.35 in 2007.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFirst EUV prototype shipped
ASML ships the TWINSCAN NXE:3100, its first extreme ultraviolet lithography tool, to the research facility of an Asian chipmaker. EUV uses light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, generated by firing a high-power laser at molten tin droplets about 50,000 times a second, and reflected by mirrors because EUV light is absorbed by glass and air.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCustomer Co-Investment Program with Intel, TSMC and Samsung
Intel, TSMC and Samsung acquire newly issued ASML shares equal to an aggregate 23 percent minority stake for ~$4.35 billion (3.85 billion euros) in cash, and separately commit ~$1.56 billion (1.38 billion euros) of R&D funding over five years dedicated to EUV and 450 millimeter wafer development. The share proceeds are returned to other shareholders through a synthetic buyback.
Source: asml.comCymer acquisition completed and second-generation EUV shipped
ASML completes the acquisition of Cymer, the San Diego supplier of the light sources used in its lithography systems, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at ~$2.2 billion (1.95 billion euros) when it was agreed in October 2012. Each Cymer share is exchanged for 20 dollars in cash plus 1.1502 ASML ordinary shares. ASML also ships the second-generation EUV system, the NXE:3300.
Source: asml.comEUV enters high-volume manufacturing
ASML begins shipping the production-ready TWINSCAN NXE:3400B after customers started ordering the NXE:3400 generation in batches in 2016, roughly two decades after EUV research began. The first e-beam pattern fidelity metrology system built on the Hermes Microvision acquisition, the ePfm5, also ships this year.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDutch government stops EUV exports to China
The Netherlands does not renew ASML's export licence for EUV systems to China, the start of a widening export control regime. Dutch controls were extended to advanced DUV immersion systems in 2023, to certain metrology and inspection systems on January 15, 2025, and were incorporated into the EU control list in November 2025.
Source: sec.govFirst High-NA EUV system shipped
ASML ships the first of its next-generation EUV systems with a numerical aperture of 0.55, the TWINSCAN EXE:5000, to Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon. The EXE platform uses an anamorphic optical design and faster stages and can print 8 nanometer features in a single exposure. ASML expects the platform to start supporting high-volume manufacturing in 2027.
Source: sec.govChristophe Fouquet becomes chief executive
Peter Wennink and Martin van den Brink step down as presidents of ASML on April 24, 2024 and Christophe Fouquet becomes president, chief executive officer and chair of the Board of Management. In October 2024 ASML shares fell about 16 percent after a technical error published part of its third-quarter results ahead of schedule alongside a lowered 2025 outlook.
Source: sec.govRecord year, first EXE:5200B and Mistral AI investment
ASML reports total net sales of ~$37 billion (32.7 billion euros), up 15.6 percent, net income of ~$10.8 billion (9.6 billion euros), a gross margin of 52.8 percent and 535 systems sold, and closes the year with a backlog of ~$43.8 billion (38.8 billion euros) of which ~$28.8 billion (25.5 billion euros) is EUV. It ships the first TWINSCAN EXE:5200B in April, ships its first advanced packaging system the XT:260, and invests ~$1.47 billion (1.3 billion euros) in Mistral AI as lead investor for about 11 percent on a fully diluted basis.
Source: asml.comMajor Acquisitions
Silicon Valley Group (SVG)
2001ASML agreed in 2000 and completed in 2001 the acquisition of Silicon Valley Group, the largest American lithography equipment manufacturer, for about 1.6 billion dollars in stock. SVG brought relationships with American chipmakers including Intel and Texas Instruments, a deep ultraviolet technology portfolio, US manufacturing and service infrastructure, and the Tinsley optics business. The deal cleared a US national security review before closing.
Brion Technologies
2007ASML acquired Brion Technologies of Santa Clara, California in 2007 for about 270 million dollars. Brion built computational lithography software that models how light behaves through the scanner optics and pre-distorts the mask pattern so the printed result is correct, work known as optical proximity correction and source-mask optimization. ASML describes the deal as the start of its holistic lithography strategy.
Cymer Inc.
2013ASML agreed in October 2012 to acquire Cymer, the San Diego supplier of the excimer laser light sources used in DUV lithography, in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at ~$2.2 billion (1.95 billion euros), about 2.6 billion dollars at the time, and completed the deal in May 2013. Each Cymer share was exchanged for 20 dollars in cash plus 1.1502 ASML ordinary shares. Cymer already supplied ASML exclusively, so the main motive was to take direct control of EUV light source development, which was the bottleneck holding up the whole EUV program.
Hermes Microvision Inc. (HMI)
2016ASML acquired Hermes Microvision, the Taiwan-based maker of electron-beam wafer inspection systems, in 2016 for about 3.1 billion dollars. HMI e-beam tools locate and analyze individual defects at very high resolution among millions of printed patterns, providing the measurement data ASML needs to adjust lithography system settings for yield. The deal extended the holistic lithography strategy started with Brion.
Berliner Glas Group
2020ASML completed the acquisition of the Berliner Glas Group in November 2020. The German company manufactures high-precision optical assemblies, ceramic components and wafer chucks used in ASML EUV and DUV systems. The deal secured supply of critical optical and mechanical subassemblies at a point when ASML was ramping EUV output. The transaction value was not disclosed.
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ASML Holding Company History FAQ
What were the major milestones in ASML's founding and survival from 1984 to 1995?
ASML was founded on April 1, 1984 as ASM Lithography, a Philips and ASM International joint venture based in a Philips building in Eindhoven, moved to purpose-built premises in Veldhoven in 1985, survived ASM International withdrawal in 1988 on a final Philips investment, launched the breakthrough PAS 5500 platform in 1991, and listed in Amsterdam and on Nasdaq in 1995.
When did ASML introduce the TWINSCAN dual-stage platform?
ASML introduced TWINSCAN in 2001. Its dual-stage architecture measures and aligns one wafer while the next is being exposed, which raised throughput and overlay accuracy above competing steppers and helped ASML pass Nikon and Canon in lithography market share in the mid-2000s.
How did the 2003 breakthrough in Immersion DUV lithography alter the chip industry?
In 2003 ASML shipped the TWINSCAN AT:1150i, the first immersion lithography machine, which projects 193 nanometer light through a layer of ultrapure water between the lens and the wafer. That raised effective resolution and extended DUV lithography through several more device generations instead of switching to 157 nanometer lasers.
What was the landmark 2012 Customer Co-Investment Program?
In 2012 Intel, TSMC and Samsung acquired newly issued ASML shares equal to an aggregate 23 percent minority stake for ~$4.35 billion (3.85 billion euros) in cash, with the proceeds returned to other shareholders through a synthetic buyback, and separately committed ~$1.56 billion (1.38 billion euros) of R&D funding over five years for EUV and 450 millimeter wafer development.
When did ASML ship the first commercial production EUV system (NXE:3400B)?
ASML began shipping the production TWINSCAN NXE:3400B in 2017, after customers started ordering the NXE:3400 generation in batches in 2016. It followed the NXE:3100 prototype of 2010 and the NXE:3300 of 2013, and marked the point at which EUV reached the power and uptime needed for high-volume chip manufacturing.
When did ASML become Europe's most valuable technology company?
ASML's market capitalization passed 300 billion dollars in 2021 and stood at about 414 billion dollars at the end of 2025, making it Europe's most valuable technology company. It had been about 38 billion dollars at the end of 2013, before EUV reached production.
When did ASML ship the world's first High-NA EUV system (EXE:5000)?
In December 2023, ASML shipped the world's first commercial High-NA EUV lithography system (Twinscan EXE:5000) to Intel's D1X fab in Hillsboro, Oregon, ushering in the sub-2nm semiconductor fabrication era.
What are ASML's primary strategic priorities across lithography in 2025 and beyond?
ASML's priorities are ramping the High-NA EXE platform, which it expects to support high-volume manufacturing from 2027, raising EUV productivity through the NXE:3800E and field upgrades of installed systems, taking multibeam e-beam inspection into high-volume manufacturing, extending into 3D integration and advanced packaging with the TWINSCAN XT:260, and applying AI internally through its ~$1.47 billion (1.3 billion euro) investment in Mistral AI.
When was ASML founded?
ASML was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Dutch electronics giant Philips and ASM International, starting in a small wooden shed in Eindhoven.
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