AI chip production capacity anxiety relieved! Asmack's core supplier ZEISS: Confident to meet demand and launch headquarters expansion and new plant

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Frank Rohmund, head of the semiconductor manufacturing technology department at ZEISS, clearly stated in an interview that the company is confident of meeting surging demand and has launched a “real, long-term” capacity expansion project. This expansion is not only related to ZEISS's own performance growth, but also directly determines the production capacity limit for the world's most advanced chip manufacturing. The German Zeiss Group (ZEISS), which provides the core optical systems for ASML.US (ASML.US), the world's only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, is responding to the market's general concerns about AI chip supply chain bottlenecks with a decisive expansion of production capacity and a 15-year technology roadmap.

Capacity expansion: from Oberkochen to global layout, building a foundation for “long-term demand”

Faced with surging demand, investors previously generally feared that Asmack and its supply chain (ZEISS in particular) might drag down the development of the entire semiconductor industry due to capacity bottlenecks. In response, Rohmund made it clear that the company is confident to meet the challenge.

In the face of exponential growth in demand for AI chips, the ZEISS semiconductor division has taken the lead in substantially expanding production capacity. According to Rohmund, ZEISS has expanded its headquarters in Oberkochen (Oberkochen), Germany, with the aim of optimizing existing space and expanding production scale. At the same time, the department is also building a brand new factory at another ZEISS site, and has made it clear that it can be further expanded if needed. “As far as capacity expansion is concerned, these are real, long-term projects,” Rohmund emphasized.

This expansion directly responds to investors' core concerns. Previously, the market was generally concerned that as chip makers such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and Micron compete to build chip production facilities, Asmack and its key suppliers (such as ZEISS) might not be able to keep up. ZEISS's active expansion of production aims to eliminate this hidden bottleneck in the supply chain.

At the same time, Asmack itself is also expanding production capacity “at a speed rare in the semiconductor equipment industry.” According to an April report, Asmack expects to mass-produce at least 60 EUV lithographers in 2026, a significant increase over 2025, and the annual production capacity will further increase to at least 80 units in the next phase. In order to ease production capacity bottlenecks, Asmack has expanded production capacity in dust-free workshops in the US, Germany, and South Korea, and plans to build a new industrial park near the Dutch headquarters. As its exclusive partner for optical components, ZEISS is a key part of this global capacity expansion network.

This layout is closely synchronized with Asmack's plans to expand production. In July of this year, Asmat announced plans to significantly increase the production capacity of its EUV lithography machines to meet the large backlog of orders in 2028. The pace of expansion of production between the two companies is highly consistent, showing that both sides have strong confidence in the long-term demand driven by AI.

Technical depth: from High NA to Hyper-NA, co-drawing up an EUV roadmap

The cooperation between ZEISS and Asmack goes far beyond meeting current needs; the two sides have already locked down the technical route for the next ten years. Currently, the most advanced lithography machine shipped by Asmack uses a High NA (0.55NA) optical system with a resolution of 8 nm. As early as June 2025, Jos Benschop, senior vice president of Asmack Technology, announced that he had jointly initiated the development of a Hyper-NA lithography machine with a single exposure to achieve 5nm resolution with a single exposure. The development goal of the project is to further increase the numerical aperture (NA) to 0.7 or higher to meet the needs of the industry in 2035 and beyond.

Rohmund revealed that the two sides have drawn up a joint plan that extends the goal to “around 2040.” This means that for the foreseeable future, ZEISS optical systems will continue to define the ceiling of chip manufacturing accuracy.

Financial engine: The semiconductor sector has become the core of the Group's growth

The EUV lithography machine is known as a “money printer” made by modern semiconductors, and the ultra-smooth reflector provided by ZEISS is the “eyeball” of this machine. The manufacturing accuracy of these mirrors is at the atomic level, and according to ZEISS, if their tilt angle is used to “reorient the laser beam and aim at the moon, it can even hit a table tennis ball on the surface of the moon.” It is this ultimate optical technology that enables ZEISS components to play a key role in about 80% of global chip production.

The strategic importance of the ZEISS semiconductor division is clearly reflected in its financial data. With AI big model training and reasoning thirsting for computing power, chip makers are racing to buy EUV devices, directly boosting the orders and revenue of the ZEISS semiconductor division. The division's strong performance also made it the largest contributor to the ZEISS Group's total revenue of nearly 12 billion euros during the same period. Earlier, German media reported that nearly one-third of ZEISS's annual turnover comes from the semiconductor business.

Looking ahead, Rohmund expects the company's performance to “grow significantly” this year thanks to investments from hyperscale data center operators. AI-driven digital transformation and data intelligence have been positioned as core themes in ZEISS's new five-year strategy.

Despite its broad prospects, ZEISS, which has been deeply involved in optics for nearly 180 years, still maintains the prudence unique to German companies — the cyclicality of the semiconductor industry cannot be ignored. Physicist Rohmund, who has worked at ZEISS for almost 25 years, is sober about this. “Sooner or later, there is likely to be some degree of adjustment,” he cautioned. He added: “We are German, we are always cautious and never easily optimistic.”