Date: September 8, 2026
Main source: Reuters
Link: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/asml-work-with-major-chipmakers-to-use-latest-tools-larger-chips-2026-09-08/
Summary
ASML plans to work with major chipmakers to adapt its High NA EUV systems to the larger designs used in data centers. The current generation of these tools can print smaller features, but mask dimensions limit the maximum chip size. The company aims to use larger masks to remove that restriction. Reuters reported that the change could raise system productivity by about 40%.
Why it matters
The most capable models need chips with more transistors, memory and bandwidth, but making ever more complex processors requires advances in lithography. ASML controls one of the hardest pieces to replicate in the whole semiconductor chain. Any improvement that allows larger or more efficient AI chips to be produced can directly affect the capacity and cost of compute available years later.
Practical implications
- Do not assume compute cost will follow a simple curve, it depends on physical advances as well as software.
- For projects with a multi-year horizon, avoid designing around a single GPU generation.
- Follow semiconductors, memory and energy as leading indicators of the future cost of AI.