Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 267 posts

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#121

Post by 11thEarlOfMar »

analyst74 wrote: post #113
ren_engineer wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ASML will matter for decades unless a competitor surpasses them. US is already blocking them from exporting to China https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-wants-a-chip-machine-from... the company is probably as important as TSMC in terms of geopolitics now

> US is already blocking them from exporting to China This might actually be a good thing for China. In a "necessity is the root of invention" kinda way. Ultimately this might be good to the world too, competition is generally a good thing.

This is true in general. In this case, however, there are no efforts I am aware of in the industry that can catch them. Their technological lead is so great, in so many subsystem and science areas, it's likely they will be defacto monopoly in this space for 20 years.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#122

Post by zoover2020 »

burntoutfire wrote: post #82
whazor wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really is. The machines are highly sophisticated and downtime is very costly. Code bases are heavily documented and have a bureaucratic process to protect them. ASML does have less crucial software projects that have a more normal process.

Some of the jobs look pretty cool, can you share what is the salary range to be expected? The website is silent about that, which in Europe almost always means underwhelming numbers.

Check Blind

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#123

Post by nzmsv »

megablast wrote: post #114
br4m wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who currently works there it is indeed bureaucratic. But I also feel like it is an environment that focuses less on cost/money and optimizes for the highest quality. I.e., there is room to explore the best way of doing something and there is less pressure to do it ASAP or for the lowest price.

So, just like any rich company really.

No, companies can be rich and still have a culture of cutting corners and rushing stuff to market.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#124

Post by N1H1L »

royjacobs wrote: post #23

Ah yes, ASML. I have a number of friends and ex-colleagues who work there. Unsurprisingly, due to their importance, ASML are extremely well-known inside of the Netherlands. It's one of those companies that spun out of Philips Electronics and became very successful (NXP is another good example). A lot of research and development is still going on in the area where Philips had their research labs. If you're curious to…

My major background is in electron microscopy. Eindhoven is also a massively important microscopy center. This is because Philips used to build great TEMs once upon a time, which was spun out as Philips Electron Optics in the mid 90s.

That company merged with FEI of Portland, OR to become one of the largest electron microscope company. FEI a few years back was bought out ThermoFisher to become a group company. They still command a huge portion of the electron microscopy market.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#125

Post by teekert »

as1mov wrote: post #56
royjacobs wrote: post #23

Ah yes, ASML. I have a number of friends and ex-colleagues who work there. Unsurprisingly, due to their importance, ASML are extremely well-known inside of the Netherlands. It's one of those companies that spun out of Philips Electronics and became very successful (NXP is another good example). A lot of research and development is still going on in the area where Philips had their research labs. If you're curious to…

Kinda off-topic but what's it like working at ASML? They are hiring for a lot of software roles at the moment. I've been mulling about applying there but from the outside it looks very bureaucratic (at least that's what the Glassdoor reviews seem to indicate).

I applied there, they asked me what I would do if there was too much work for the week. Of course I answered I would just work nights, np. No, they said: Go to your team lead tell her/him you can do one thing and discuss what to choose. They don’t want people getting burned out, they are too important. I liked that.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#126

Post by Throwawayaerlei »

qorrect wrote: post #101
mixedCase wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't fabs already rigged with explosives in case of invasion?

Is this a real thing ?

Normal SOP is to keep the explosives, which do have shelf-lives, in a magazine a short distance from where they need to be emplaced. Perhaps look up how they Swiss routinely included niches in bridges and the like to place them in case of invasion.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#127

Post by pritambaral »

jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #57
sneak wrote: post #20

Twitter won't show complete threads now without an account. :( Twitter accounts basically de facto require a phone number, or they get suspended.

This isn't true at all. I just double checked and you can view the thread logged out no problem. Twitter's UI is admittedly garbo so depending when you clicked on the thread you may have needed to click an expand link.

It's not consistent across loads, but I do get it some times.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#128

Post by teekert »

burntoutfire wrote: post #82
whazor wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really is. The machines are highly sophisticated and downtime is very costly. Code bases are heavily documented and have a bureaucratic process to protect them. ASML does have less crucial software projects that have a more normal process.

Some of the jobs look pretty cool, can you share what is the salary range to be expected? The website is silent about that, which in Europe almost always means underwhelming numbers.

Of course you will just get help when you get cancer and homeless people get help when they need it. It takes some money away from the higher paying jobs, and may make the salary underwhelming compared to the US. But then again, you won’t need a million dollar house in the right neighborhood to get your kids into a decent school.

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#129

Post by ren_engineer »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #121
analyst74 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> US is already blocking them from exporting to China This might actually be a good thing for China. In a "necessity is the root of invention" kinda way. Ultimately this might be good to the world too, competition is generally a good thing.

This is true in general. In this case, however, there are no efforts I am aware of in the industry that can catch them. Their technological lead is so great, in so many subsystem and science areas, it's likely they will be defacto monopoly in this space for 20 years.

China flat out bribing, kidnapping or blackmailing ASML employees seems perfectly viable. Or sneaking operatives into ASML to steal trade secrets. China is the best in the world at this and they now have huge incentive to try even harder

Re: ASML, a $300B Dutch firm, makes the machines that make semiconductors

#130

Post by SkyMarshal »

cinntaile wrote: post #39
Bootvis wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s quite a bit more nuanced. I recommend reading some work by Mariana Mazzucato to get some perspective. https://www.google.com/search?q=mariana%20mazzucato

Which book would you recommend?

Start with "The Value of Everything" [1], then "The Entrepreneurial State".

[1]:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23890312

Post reply on HN