ASML, University Partner Commit to $195M for Semiconductor R&D

ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/Eindhoven) signed an agreement to expand their existing collaboration over the next ten years, with investment set to support semiconductor research as well as research and training in areas including plasma physics, mechatronics, optics, and AI, based on common roadmaps. The expanded collaboration will also support the establishment of a cleanroom at TU Eindhoven.

Per the agreement, ASML will invest a total of €80 million (~$87 million) into the partnership over the course of the next ten years. TU/e said that its total investment in support of the cleanroom building and to-be appointed PhD students is expected to total over €100 million.

ASML and TU/Eindhoven have extended their long-term collaboration. Per the agreement, the pair will invest heavily in semiconductor research and talent generation, including the establishment of a new cleanroom facility. Courtesy of TU Eindhoven/Bart van Overbeeke.

The agreement, TU Eindhoven said, is the elaboration of a memorandum of understanding signed last year by ASML and the university. The pact is in line with the €2.5 billion Project Beethoven initiative spearheaded by the government of the Netherlands and the Brainport Eindhoven region to boost semiconductor production, innovation, and talent. The collaboration also aligns with the university’s own Future Chips flagship, spurred by Project Beethoven, under which the university aims to boost the development of chip technology.