ASML, a Dutch company that is a crucial, "hidden powerhouse" in the AI revolution. ASML produces extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are indispensable for manufacturing the most advanced chips used in everything from Nvidia's semiconductors to ChatGPT.

ASML is the sole company capable of making the machines that print the tiniest circuits on advanced chips. Their crown jewel, the EUV lithography machine, costs over $300 million, weighs as much as a Boeing 747, and uses ultraviolet light to etch microscopic patterns onto silicon wafers, enabling billions of transistors on a fingernail-sized chip. This technology is critical for pushing chip capabilities beyond the current 3 nanometer level to below two nanometers, essential for future AI applications.

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet explains that lithography will continue to innovate for the next 10 to 15 years, focusing on better resolution, accuracy, and productivity. He also discusses the company's push into advanced packaging (3D packaging) to achieve even greater transistor density, driven by AI customers like Nvidia who demand a 16-fold increase in transistors every two years, far surpassing Moore's Law. The company invested $1.5 billion in Mistral AI, a leading European large language model company, to leverage AI for internal efficiency, particularly in software development and product improvement. Fouquet believes there isn't an "AI bubble" in the industry itself, as the impact of AI is just beginning and will be positive for many years. While stock market valuations might fluctuate, the industrial demand for AI is extremely high, leading to more players entering the market.

Despite emerging competition, ASML's lead in lithography is substantial, taking decades to build.