ASML Holding vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: ASML Holding and Microsoft side by side

1. 1975Microsoft

   Microsoft Founded

   Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.

2. 1981Microsoft

   MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC

   IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.

3. 1984ASML Holding

   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.

4. 1985Microsoft

   Windows Launch

   The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.

5. 1986ASML Holding

   PAS 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.

6. 1986Microsoft

   Microsoft IPO

   Microsoft went public on the Nasdaq in March 1986.

7. 1988ASML Holding

   ASM 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.

8. 1990Microsoft

   Office Suite Release

   The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.

9. 1991ASML Holding

   PAS 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.

10. 1995ASML Holding

    IPO 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.

11. 1995Microsoft

    Windows 95 Released

    Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995.

12. 1998Microsoft

    U.S. Antitrust Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.

13. 2001ASML Holding

    TWINSCAN 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.

14. 2003ASML Holding

    First 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.

15. 2010ASML Holding

    First EUV prototype shipped

    ASML ships the TWINSCAN NXE:3100, its first extreme ultraviolet lithography tool, to the research facility of an Asian chipmaker.

16. 2010Microsoft

    Azure Commercial Launch

    Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.

17. 2012ASML Holding

    Customer 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…

18. 2013ASML Holding

    Cymer 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.

19. 2014Microsoft

    Satya Nadella CEO

    Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.

20. 2016Microsoft

    LinkedIn Acquisition

    Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.

21. 2017ASML Holding

    EUV 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.

22. 2018Microsoft

    GitHub Acquisition

    Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.

23. 2019ASML Holding

    Dutch 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.

24. 2023ASML Holding

    First 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.

25. 2023Microsoft

    AI Leadership

    Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.

26. 2023Microsoft

    Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes

    Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.

27. 2024ASML Holding

    Christophe 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.

28. 2025ASML Holding

    Record 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)…

Acquisitions

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