How ASML, TSMC And Intel Dominate The Chip Market | CNBC Marathon
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ASML holds a monopoly on EUV lithography machines, crucial for producing advanced processor chips, with a new model priced at over $300 million. ASML's success stems from its revolutionary lithography technology, essential for modern chip production, with a limited number of customers who can afford machines priced at up to $200 million.
Insights
- ASML holds a monopoly on EUV lithography machines, crucial for producing advanced processor chips, with each machine costing up to $200 million, limiting the number of customers to major companies like Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, and TSMC.
- ASML's revolutionary lithography technology, particularly its EUV systems, has significantly reduced competition, making it challenging for other companies to catch up, leading to its strategic growth plans projecting a 20% sales growth in the current year.
- The global chip shortage has impacted ASML's production and key customers, prompting them to expand capacity and ASML to prepare for increased production, while raising concerns about overreliance on a few key players in the chip supply chain, leading to initiatives like the U.S. Chips Act.
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Recent questions
What is ASML's role in chip production?
ASML holds a monopoly on EUV lithography machines, crucial for producing advanced processor chips. These machines are the most expensive step in chip production, costing up to $200 million each. ASML is the sole provider of this technology globally, with machines the size of a city bus but working with atomic precision. Amid a chip shortage, ASML's importance has surged, with its stock value rising significantly. ASML's machines are among the most complex devices ever made, with a new model priced at over $300 million. ASML's success stems from its revolutionary lithography technology, essential for modern chip production.
How does ASML's technology impact the chip market?
ASML's EUV machines use extreme ultraviolet light to print intricate chip designs with unparalleled precision. These machines are a critical component in chip fabrication, requiring meticulous engineering and physics expertise. ASML's machines are costly, with each machine priced at up to $200 million, limiting the number of customers who can afford them to five major companies: Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, and TSMC. The global chip shortage has impacted ASML's production as suppliers struggle to deliver necessary components, hindering the manufacturing of more machines. ASML's key customers are expanding their capacity to address the chip shortage, with ASML preparing to increase production to meet the rising demand.
What are the growth plans for ASML?
ASML's strategic growth plans include a projected 20% sales growth in the current year and an annual revenue growth rate of 11% until the end of the decade. The company's focus on reducing the cost per transistor over the years has been a key factor in its success and will continue to drive its growth in the future. ASML's involvement in the global chip supply chain has raised concerns about overreliance on a few key players, prompting initiatives like the U.S. Chips Act and similar acts in other countries. ASML has established intricate relationships with nearly 800 suppliers, ensuring its dominance in the market and making it difficult for competitors to emerge.
How is TSMC addressing the chip shortage?
TSMC, a major player in chip manufacturing, is investing heavily to ramp up production, aiming to address the global chip shortage and maintain its position as a leading chipmaker. The company is constructing a five-nanometer fab in Arizona to cater to its U.S. customer base, with plans to recycle water and reduce environmental impact. TSMC is relocating top engineers from Taiwan to the U.S. to bolster its workforce and tap into a larger pool of analog designers. The U.S. government and industry are incentivizing chip manufacturing on U.S. soil to reduce reliance on foreign production. TSMC's expansion in the U.S. aims to enhance domestic chip manufacturing capabilities and alleviate global chip shortages.
What is Intel's strategy to address the chip shortage?
Intel's new CEO has a plan to address the global chip shortage by expanding operations in Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, Ireland, and Israel. The company is investing $20 billion in new fabs in Arizona to produce chips for Amazon, Qualcomm, and others, aiming for self-sufficiency in the U.S. Intel's growth includes building new fabs in Oregon and Arizona, with a focus on clean rooms and advanced equipment to produce chips. The company is investing in water treatment facilities to manage the significant water usage in chip manufacturing. Intel is establishing a new business called Intel Foundry Services, aiming to manufacture wafers for customers like Amazon, Qualcomm, and the U.S. government, potentially reshaping the chip manufacturing landscape in the U.S.