- One way to measure the speed of the AI boom is tracking the hardware supply chain, where AI data centers are driving massive demand for chips and chip manufacturing equipment.
- Nvidia is often mentioned for selling billions of dollars worth of GPUs monthly to AI companies, contributing to making it the world’s most valuable company.
- However, looking deeper into Nvidia’s suppliers reveals clearer long-term trends, particularly ASML – the Dutch company playing a pivotal role in the semiconductor industry.
- ASML is the sole supplier of EUV equipment used to manufacture advanced chips, making the firm a “strategic choke point” for the entire industry.
- The latest quarterly financial report shows ASML reached €32.7 billion in net revenue, reflecting enormous market demand.
- The most important metric is “new orders” (bookings), representing chipmakers’ long-term expectations for future demand.
- In the past quarter, ASML recorded €13 billion in new orders – a record high, more than double the previous quarter.
- ASML’s CEO stated that the strong increase in demand stems from sustainable expectations for AI projects, especially data centers.
- Customers are spending money early to prepare chip production capacity, believing that AI demand will continue to remain high.
- However, the author notes that this is still a forecast: orders can take years to complete, and some projects may be canceled.
- Nevertheless, as of now, there are no signs that companies will retreat from trillion-dollar AI infrastructure investment plans.
📌 Data from ASML shows that the AI infrastructure boom is still accelerating, with €13 billion in new orders in just one quarter and €32.7 billion in revenue. Despite long-term risks and uncertainties, chip manufacturers are acting as if AI demand will last for many years. This indicates that the construction of data centers and large-scale AI supply chains is unlikely to stall in the near future.
