When people talk about AI dominance, they talk about NVIDIA.
When it comes to semiconductors, we have TSMC.
But there’s another company sitting quietly behind both of them.
A company so important that if it disappeared tomorrow, advanced chip production across the planet would effectively stop.
That company is ASML.
The Dutch firm sells only a couple of machines each year, yet those machines are responsible for printing the world’s most advanced chips.
Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Samsung, TSMC - all roads eventually lead back to ASML.
ASML’s monopoly isn’t the only interesting thing. It’s the technology behind it.
To make modern chips, ASML’s EUV machines fire lasers at microscopic droplets of molten tin, creating plasma hotter than the surface of the Sun.
The resulting light is then reflected through mirrors polished so smoothly that defects measured in atoms can ruin the process.
The entire machine contains over 100,000 parts, weighs hundreds of tons, and represents decades of research spread across multiple countries and companies.
It’s one of those technologies that sounds like science fiction until you realize it’s already running inside factories today.
If ASML’s tech excites you, checkout my article linked below:
<a href="https://www.sknexus.org/p/asml-euv-lithography-monopoly" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">https://www.sknexus.org/p/asml-euv-lithography-monopoly</a>

Knowledge by Execution - Breaking Down Tech for the Mango Man (Aam Aadmi/Regular Person) - https://www.sknexus.org/

SK NEXUS

ASML, a Dutch company, holds a quiet monopoly over advanced chip manufacturing through its EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography machines. Every major semiconductor player — NVIDIA, Apple, AMD, Intel, TSMC, Samsung — depends on ASML's technology. These machines work by firing lasers at molten tin droplets to create plasma hotter than the Sun's surface, then reflecting the resulting light through atom-smooth mirrors to print chips. Each machine contains over 100,000 parts, weighs hundreds of tons, and represents decades of multinational R&D.

ASML's Dominance in Chipmaking