Intel Just Made a Big Bet on ASML’s Next-Gen Technology. Here’s Why It Matters in 2026.
Intel Just Made a Big Bet on ASML’s Next-Gen Technology. Here’s Why It Matters in 2026.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/30/intel-just-made-a-big-bet-on-asmls-next-gen-techno/
Publish Date: 2026-01-30 06:05:00
Source Domain: www.fool.com
The chipmaker wants to pull ahead of TSMC with a big bet on ASML’s cutting-edge systems.
Intel (INTC 0.25%), the world’s top manufacturer of x86 CPUs, was once a reliable tech stock. Yet over the past five years, its stock declined by 13% while the S&P 500 rose by 83%.
Intel lost its luster as it fell behind TSMC (TSM 0.86%) in the “process race” to manufacture smaller, denser chips, and it ceded a massive slice of its PC market to AMD (AMD 0.24%). As it faced those existential challenges, it abruptly shifted its strategies under four different CEOs over the past eight years.
Image source: Getty Images.
Intel’s newest CEO, Lip Bu-Tan, took the helm in March 2025 and doubled down on its commitment to manufacturing its own chips and reclaiming the process lead from TSMC. It plans to use ASML‘s (ASML +2.27%) newest lithography systems to achieve that goal.
That’s why many investors have been closely tracking Intel’s investments in ASML’s high-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems. The bulls believe those cutting-edge systems will give it a significant advantage over TSMC. The bears think Intel is plowing too much cash into those pricey systems and prematurely shifting away from its older low-NA EUV systems.
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The story thus far…
Intel, TSMC, and other foundries use ASML’s lithography systems to optically etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Its older deep ultraviolet (DUV) systems are used to produce older and larger chips. Its newer EUV systems, which require multiple planes and trucks to ship, are used to create the world’s smallest, densest, and most power-efficient chips.
ASML is the world’s largest producer of DUV systems and the only producer of EUV systems. By installing ASML’s EUV systems before Intel, TSMC pulled ahead in the process race with smaller chips from 2018 to…
