ASML pitches for India business as PM Modi eyes local chip making

Modi wants to establish a credible domestic chip industry and expects the first made-in-India chips to hit markets by year-end, potentially offering a new market for ASML’s machines

Semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV made a pitch for business in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to make chips locally and reduce imports of the critical technology.

The Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company, an important supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., wants to deepen its collaboration with Indian companies in the year ahead, Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said Tuesday at the Semicon India summit in New Delhi.

“We are dedicated to supporting India’s ambition whether through collaboration, knowledge exchange or talent,” Fouquet said. “Our advanced lithography solutions can help Indian fabs to achieve cutting-edge performance.”

A spokesperson for ASML declined to provide details such as the timeline or models of any possible sales.

Modi wants to establish a credible domestic chip industry and expects the first made-in-India chips to hit markets by year-end, potentially offering a new market for ASML’s machines. The South Asian nation is joining countries such as the US, Japan and China in building out their semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, partly to reduce reliance on other regions.

While the world’s largest chipmakers have yet to commit to investments in India, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is scouting local partners to set up a data center with at least 1-gigawatt capacity, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

ASML makes machines needed to produce high-end chips used in products such as mobile phones, medical devices, military gear and, critically, artificial intelligence.

India is expected to target less advanced chips initially, rather than the cutting-edge models used to power artificial intelligence services.

Fouquet’s pitch follows ASML hedging its growth outlook for next year, as trade disputes weigh on semiconductor sales.

In recent years, ASML has been caught in the crosshairs of US government efforts to curb Beijing’s chip ambitions. While the company has never been able to sell its most advanced machines to China, US-led restrictions in recent years have further narrowed what it’s allowed to ship, and tighter controls on chips allowed into the country have constrained demand.

China was its second-largest market in the second quarter after Taiwan, contributing 27% of net system sales. South Korea, the US and Japan accounted for the other top markets in the period.