Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, has agreed to invest €276 million into the Dutch manufacturer ASML.
ASML will use the money for the research and development of next-generation lithography technologies, including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology and 450mm lithography tools.
ASML is one of the world's leading providers oflithography systems for the semiconductor industry, manufacturing complex machines that are critical to the production of integrated circuits or chips
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has also invested an additional €838 million in a five per cent ASML equity stake.
ASML said that additional funding would accelerate its development of EUV technology beyond the current generation, as well as its development of future 450mm silicon wafer technology, both due in the second half of this decade.
Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML has almost 8,000 employees and serves chip manufacturers in more than 55 locations across 16 countries.
