ASML's Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography and the Limits of Reverse Engineering in China

An analysis of ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines concludes that while China could gain some component-level knowledge from physical access, it cannot replicate the technology. The immense systems integration complexity, accumulated tacit knowledge, and deeply integrated specialist supply chain form a moat that is nearly impossible to reverse-engineer.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Semiconductors. Wire is Fusion42's founder-focused intelligence feed: each story is connected to the funds and startups it names — every one with a live profile on Raise or Scout — so founders can follow the capital and the momentum behind the headline rather than just the headline itself. Wire analysis is one of the live surfaces Arthur reasons over.