Asmack and Eindhoven University of Technology said on Thursday that they have agreed to invest a total of 180 million euros (195 million US dollars) in semiconductor research over the next ten years.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that lithography giant ASML.US (ASML.US) and Eindhoven University of Technology said on Thursday that they have agreed to invest a total of 180 million euros (195 million US dollars) in semiconductor research over the next ten years.
Asmack, the world's largest supplier of computer chip manufacturing equipment, has been struggling with where and how it will expand its business, and is questioning whether the workforce and other infrastructure in the Eindhoven region of the Netherlands will be sufficient to meet its growth plans.
In a statement announcing the deal, Asmack Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said: “This collaboration will increase the number of PhD students that our industry is in desperate need and will provide scientific insights relevant to the chip industry and society.”
“With this agreement, we are investing in science and training experts in the Netherlands.”
The university said it is expected to spend 100 million euros to build and operate an advanced cleanroom facility where semiconductor-related research in the fields of plasma physics, mechatronics, optics and artificial intelligence will be carried out. Asmack will invest 80 million euros.
Eindhoven University President Robert-Jan Smits said this is the largest partnership in the university's history and will help solidify Eindhoven's importance as a “semiconductor hotspot.”
The Dutch government said in March this year that it will spend 2.7 billion US dollars to carry out its so-called “Operation Beethoven” to improve roads, housing, and power grids around Eindhoven to ensure that Asmäck does not fulfill the threat of moving important businesses overseas.
In April, Asmack and the city of Eindhoven signed a letter of intent to expand an undeveloped area near the city's airport, enough to accommodate 20,000 additional employees.
By the end of 2023, Asmarck, headquartered in Veldhoven, a suburb of Eindhoven, had 42,000 employees worldwide, of which 23,000 were in the Netherlands.
The company's long-term forecast is that by 2030, annual sales will reach 44 billion to 60 billion euros, about double the 26.7 billion euros in 2023.