MetaOptics Secures Up to US$10 Million Facility from White Lion Capital

ASML Holding N.V. plans to work with major customers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, Nvidia, Intel, Samsung, and SK Hynix to adapt its next-generation High NA extreme ultraviolet lithography tools so they can print larger data-center chips, addressing a current limitation where the newer machines use a smaller mask than ASML's widely deployed standard EUV tools. ASML targets a pilot production line using the larger masks by 2031 and high-volume manufacturing readiness by 2033, with Chief technology officer Marco Pieters saying the changes could lift system productivity by roughly 40%. TSMC plans to introduce High NA EUV into advanced-node high-volume production from 2030, giving ASML greater visibility into future equipment demand. The larger-mask transition carries execution risks, as ASML must develop and qualify larger masks while TSMC must integrate the technology into high-volume manufacturing, and the benefits remain several years away from contributing to either company's financial results. Hedge fund ownership of ASML grew to 140 funds in the second quarter from 133 in the first, with combined position value rising to $21.77 billion from $16.38 billion, while TSMC's hedge fund ownership grew to 249 funds from 234.

KLA Corporation is benefiting from accelerating artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, which is driving higher investments in leading-edge foundry and logic technologies and boosting demand for its process-control solutions. In fiscal 2026, the Semiconductor Process Control segment's revenues increased 12% year over year, and overall fiscal 2026 revenues rose 12% year over year to $13.58 billion. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, management raised its calendar 2026 wafer-fabrication equipment market estimate, including advanced packaging, to the low-$150 billion range, up from its previous $140 billion-plus view and approximately $120 billion in calendar 2025. KLAC expects second-half 2026 revenues to be approximately 20% higher than the first half, aided by high-performance computing, high-bandwidth memory, increasing extreme ultraviolet adoption in DRAM and advanced packaging technologies such as hybrid bonding, and said backlog was expected to reach about $12.5 billion. The company faces intensifying competition from Applied Materials, which expects its process diagnostics and control business to grow more than 50% in calendar 2026, and from ASML, which expects advanced foundry and logic revenues to rise about 25% in 2026 and extreme ultraviolet revenues to increase roughly 45%.

ASML Holding N.V. is riding strong momentum in its Installed Base Management business, which generated 2.8 billion euros in sales in the second quarter, up 31.8% year over year and about €300 million above management's expectations. The business benefits from the large and expanding fleet of ASML systems already operating at semiconductor manufacturers, and continued expansion of the EUV installed base is increasing the company's overall service opportunity. Demand is being driven not only by fleet expansion but also by software-led upgrades that improve productivity without significant machine time or production disruption. ASML expects to ship about 65 Low-NA EUV systems in 2026, with EUV revenue projected to rise roughly 45%, and management expects the combination of upgrade and service revenue to drive more than 30% growth in Installed Base Management sales in 2026. Sustaining that pace will depend on continued semiconductor investment and customer demand. Elsewhere in the semiconductor space, Monolithic Power Systems is gaining content across AI infrastructure and has extended its capacity goal beyond $6 billion, while Applied Materials delivered a record third quarter on the rapid global build-out of AI infrastructure.