Samsung and ASML reach a $755 million agreement to establish a chip development facility in Korea

Big chip makers like Samsung and TSC rely on ASML for acquiring chip equipment. According to reports, the South Korean conglomerate Samsung (world’s second-biggest semiconductor chip manufacturer) and the Netherlands-based chip firm ASML (the top producer of cutting-edge machinery in the world used to produce semiconductor chips) have signed a potential $755 million deal for the development of a semiconductor chip plant in South Korea.

According to reports, the deal was signed during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official visit to the Netherlands.The Dutch King Willem-Alexander invited the South Korean President. During his visit to the Netherlands, Yoon Suk Yeol became the first foreign leader to see ASML’s renowned “clean room.” In order to advance in the fiercely competitive and incredibly complex semiconductor chip market, ASML and Samsung intend to form a chip alliance.

Reportedly, the chip research facility will utilize next-generation EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) machines to develop advanced semiconductor chip technologies. Yoon claimed that ASML’s cutting-edge technologies, which are pushing the limits of AI and 5G connectivity, have been a major force behind the industrial revolution. He emphasized the importance of a visit to the Netherlands in an interview with the AFP. According to him, the visit was strategically important.

The South Korean President was accompanied by the heads of Samsung and SK Hynix. Yoon added that the new chip alliance will engage governments, research universities, and the business community of both countries. Expectedly, there are more agreements in the pipeline.

China has been banned from using the advanced chip-making equipment by the Netherlands and the US. In response to this, the Chinese government is heavily investing in developing local chip manufacturing technologies. Samsung has been impacted by the restriction because one of its largest DRAM plants is located in China, and it has been experiencing difficulties getting new chip-making machinery into that chip plant.