ASML's dominance is a relatively new phenomenon. A decade ago, the company's ability to research EUV was decided by major investments from Intel, Samsung and TSMC.
ASML started out as a subsidiary of Dutch electronics giant Philips in 1984. It launched its first machine for semiconductor lithography — which had been invented in a U.S. military lab in the 1950s — out of a leaky shed next to a Philips office building in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. ASML's developed its first lithography system in 1984, in a leaky shed outside a Philips office building in Eindhoven, the NetherlandsBy 1988, ASML had five U.S. offices with 84 employees and a new Dutch office in Veldhoven that eventually became its headquarters. CNBC got an exclusive tour of that facility in March.