ASML, a major semiconductor company by market capitalization, is headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands.
ASML was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and Advanced Semiconductor Materials International. Its name originally stood for “Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography.” The company’s headquarters campus remains in Veldhoven, near Eindhoven in the province of North Brabant.
ASML does not manufacture finished computer chips. Instead, it builds highly specialized lithography machines that semiconductor manufacturers use to print intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Its extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, systems are especially important for producing many advanced chips.
A common mix-up is answering Eindhoven, because Veldhoven lies directly beside Eindhoven and is part of the same technology-focused metropolitan area. Eindhoven is a separate municipality; Veldhoven is the city where ASML’s global headquarters and major research and manufacturing facilities are located. ASML’s importance in advanced chipmaking has made it one of Europe’s most valuable publicly traded companies.