It will take China years to catch up with ASML Holding NV’s chipmaking technology, according to a senior executive at the Dutch firm.
“Never say never,” Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said in an interview at company’s headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, adding that ASML is far ahead of Chinese competition. “Our technology is very advanced and has cost us many years to get to where we are today.”
Chinese companies have repeatedly made technological leaps that have surprised observers despite attempts by the US to stifle Beijing’s ambitions through export controls.
DeepSeek shook markets on Monday with an AI model that offers comparable performance to Western chatbots at a fraction of the cost. Research from Canada-based consultancy TechInsights this week said ChangXin Memory Technologies advanced its chipmaking manufacturing techniques in ways that hadn’t previously been seen in China.
However, China still lags behind in its ability to manufacture the most advanced chips and the equipment needed to make them. ASML has a monopoly on the lithography machines that help the world’s largest semiconductor companies to produce the advanced chips that power everything from Apple Inc.’s smartphones to Nvidia Corp.’s AI accelerators.
