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After a rather controversial couple of months that saw the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) initially hesitant to buy the latest chip manufacturing machines, it appears that the firm has been won over. Chip giant Intel took the lead earlier this year after it announced that it had started up the world's most advanced chip manufacturing machine, called High NA EUV, as part of its bid to retake the global Semiconductor fabrication crown.
When pressed about the firm's plans to acquire similar machines, TSMC had demurred in an event in the Netherlands earlier this year, sharing that not only did it not need the High NA EUV machines for a couple of years, but that the price tag was also a bit too high for its comfort.
ASML CFO Confirms That TSMC Will Receive High NA EUV Chip Manufacturing Scanner By 2024 End Says Spokesperson
The latest details for the High NA EUV machines come from an ASML spokesperson who shared the latest comments made by the firm's chief financial officer, or CFO. Talking to Bloomberg, ASML spokesperson Monique Mols shared that CFO Roger Dassen confirmed to analysts earlier that his firm will ship two EUV scanners to TSMC and Intel. A TSMC spokesperson contacted by Bloomberg only shared that the firm works closely with its suppliers.
Since the price of each machine runs into hundreds of millions of dollars, analysts keenly track any fresh orders or deliveries that ASML makes. These influence their models and, by extension, the firm's share price. ASML is Europe's most valuable company, and its shares are traded on the NYSE. Roughly three quarters of an hour after the market opened today, the stock had gained more than 6% to outpace A.I. leader NVIDIA's 2.5%.
The latest bit on the high NA EUV machines follows a visit by TSMC's CEO C.C. Wei to ASML's headquarters in the Netherlands. Speculation after Wei's visit suggested that his firm might have changed its mind on the new EUV scanners. These machines are a necessary piece of the industry's thirst to make transistors and other electrical components on chips as small as possible.
TSMC and its smaller chip manufacturing rival Samsung have started to update their chip designs to feature new transistors. Samsung's latest manufacturing technology, 3-nanometer, uses newer transistors that increase conductivity and efficiency. TSMC, which supplies most of the world's made to order chips, will introduce similar designs with its next process technology, 2-nanometer.
Apart from TSMC, ASML's CFO also shared that Intel will receive another High NA EUV machine later this year. Intel hopes to catch the train early with the advanced machines, as the firm is wary of its previous slip ups which were also related to newer machines at the time. These slip ups led to TSMC's edge and have benefited Intel's smaller computing rival, AMD.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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