ASML Holding vs Uber: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: ASML Holding and Uber side by side

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 2009Uber

   UberCab idea takes shape

   Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick developed the Uber idea after discussing the difficulty of getting a reliable ride in Paris and San Francisco.

9. 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.

10. 2010Uber

    San Francisco service launch

    Uber launched service in San Francisco in 2010, proving that riders would pay for visible arrival times, stored payment, and digital receipts.

11. 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…

12. 2012Uber

    UberX expands the addressable market

    UberX brought lower-priced rides from personal vehicles into the product mix. That shift moved the company beyond premium black cars, increased driver supply, and opened the larger regulatory debate over licensing, insurance, and worker classification.

13. 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.

14. 2016Uber

    China exit through Didi deal

    Uber exited China by selling its local operation to Didi Chuxing after an expensive subsidy fight. The retreat showed that local payments, regulation, mapping, and distribution could outweigh global capital and brand recognition.

15. 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.

16. 2017Uber

    Dara Khosrowshahi becomes CEO

    Dara Khosrowshahi replaced Travis Kalanick as CEO after a year of cultural, legal, and regulatory crises. The transition mattered because Uber needed a more credible operating and governance model before entering public markets.

17. 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.

18. 2019Uber

    Uber becomes a public company

    Uber completed its initial public offering in May 2019 and later reported roughly $8.0 billion in net IPO proceeds. The listing forced the company to explain its economics to public investors and shifted attention from geographic expansion to profitability.

19. 2020Uber

    Postmates acquisition strengthens U.S. Delivery

    Uber agreed to acquire Postmates for approximately $2.65 billion in an all-stock transaction. The deal added U.S. Delivery density, local merchant relationships, and delivery-as-a-service capabilities as Eats became more important during the pandemic.

20. 2021Uber

    Uber One launches

    Uber One launched as a paid membership connecting rides, delivery, and groceries. The product mattered because it gave frequent users a reason to keep more transactions inside one account instead of switching between single-category rivals.

21. 2021Uber

    Uber Freight agrees to buy Transplace

    Uber Freight agreed to acquire Transplace for approximately $2.25 billion. The deal moved Freight deeper into managed transportation and shipper software, a different business from consumer rides but tied to the same broader logistics ambition.

22. 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.

23. 2023Uber

    Waymo partnership brings autonomous rides to Uber

    Waymo and Uber announced a multi-year partnership to make the Waymo Driver available through the Uber platform, starting in Phoenix. The deal showed Uber's post-ATG autonomy strategy: partner with vehicle specialists while keeping the marketplace relationship.

24. 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.

25. 2024Uber

    $44.0 billion revenue year

    FY2024 revenue reached $44.0 billion, up from $37.3 billion in FY2023. The result showed that mobility had recovered after the pandemic while delivery remained a larger and more durable part of the business.

26. 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)…

27. 2025Uber

    $52.0 billion revenue and $193.5 billion gross bookings

    FY2025 revenue reached $52.0 billion, gross bookings reached $193.5 billion, and annual trips rose to 13.6 billion. The milestone mattered because it showed growth alongside GAAP operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow at significant scale.

28. 2026Uber

    $14.8 billion Delivery Hero offer and 3,300-role restructuring

    Uber offered €41.50 per share for Delivery Hero in July 2026 and launched the tender in September after Delivery Hero's boards backed it. The same month it announced about 3,300 corporate job cuts to remove management layers.

Acquisitions

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