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ASML powers nearly every digital experience on Earth, but most people have never heard of it. In this episode of Invisible Machines, Robb Wilson and Josh Tyson sit down with journalist and author Marc Hijink, whose new book “Focus – The ASML Way” culminates into decades of embedded reporting inside the world’s most important, yet mysterious technology company.
ASML produces the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines responsible for fabricating 90% of the world’s advanced chips, enabling everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to data centers and AI superclusters. But as Marc reveals, ASML’s story is far more than a tale of engineering. It’s a story of culture, geopolitics, and the delicate, interdependent supply chain that underpins modern civilization.
Marc explains how ASML’s rise was fueled not by hierarchy, but by a culture of productive chaos, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and relentless iteration with partners like TSMC. He takes us inside the unexpected complexity of chipmaking, where physics, chemistry, optics, software, and AI collide to transform probabilistic molecules into predictable, usable compute.
As global tensions escalate, the conversation explores how chips have become economic weapons, why the U.S. and China are racing to secure lithography technology, and why no country can simply “build another ASML.” Marc reveals how fragile the chip ecosystem truly is, and why a single bottleneck in the supply chain can disrupt entire industries.
The episode also looks forward, examining ASML’s new partnership with Mistral AI, the growing importance of advanced packaging, and the staggering compute required just to make the chips that power AI itself. As Marc explains, ASML doesn’t just enable the AI boom, it depends on AI to push lithography into the next era.
