Theft of confidential information from chipmaker ASML in China
The logo of ASML, a leading manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment, pictured at the group's headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, January 30, 2023. AP - Peter Dejong
Text by: Agnieszka Kumor
2 mins
The Dutch company ASML, flagship of European tech, announced on Wednesday February 15 that an investigation was underway into the misappropriation of confidential information relating to patented technology.
It would be a former employee of the group in China who would have diverted them.
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The information is significant.
The company based in Veldhoven, in the Netherlands, belongs to this very closed circle of world leaders in the construction of machines which make it possible to produce semiconductors.
And the only big European manufacturer.
The group is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
The leaks discovered by Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography (ASML) relate to confidential information extracted by a (now) former employee in China.
The company announced that it was investigating the matter.
According to the first conclusions, the leaks would not be essential for the activity of the group.
Dual-use, civilian and military chips
ASML is a strategic player in the semiconductor supply chain.
It is in fact the only one in the world to build machines that master the technology of lithography by extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV), necessary for the manufacture of the most advanced chips.
These ultrathin chips are technologies for both civilian and military use.
The size of a bus, the machines that make them have been listed under an agreement signed by some 40 countries, including the United States and the Netherlands.
This agreement indeed prohibits the export to China of this equipment essential for the production of new generation chips.
Old machines sold in China
For ASML, the stakes are crucial.
As the United States and China fight the trade war, Washington has managed to enlist the support of the Dutch and Japanese governments.
The two countries have indeed signed the famous agreement.
But Washington wants to go further and now wants other, older ASML machines, called DUV (Deep Ultraviolet), to also be banned from export.
However, until then, ASML delivered to China these old DUV machines, essential for the production of less advanced chips.
The group even made 15% of its turnover in China.
Washington, The Hague and Tokyo having reached an agreement, the terms of which have not been made public and remain confidential for the moment, the group will now have to comply with American sanctions.
China in search of the latest technology
But for China, it is a blow.
Beijing will be deprived of machines producing cutting-edge semiconductors and will struggle to find those older models.
According to experts, this will put in difficulty many Chinese companies who dream of catching up with their American, South Korean or Taiwanese competitors.
To gain autonomy, Beijing is indeed investing hundreds of billions of dollars in its own chip manufacturers.
But these would still be very far from being able to threaten the superiority of AMSL.
►Also read Semiconductors: China denounces American protectionism
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