In win for Taiwan, ASML opens chip-tool training center for TSMC

Taipei courts key foreign chip players to counter US-China tech war fallout

ASML opened its most advanced overseas training center in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan on Aug. 20. (Photo by Cheng Ting-Fang)

CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

August 20, 2020 15:14 JST

TAINAN, Taiwan -- Europe's biggest chip equipment maker has opened a $16 million high-tech training facility to serve Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., reflecting Taipei's determination to defend the island's crown jewel industry.

The center, located in the southern city of Tainan, will train engineers in the use of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, the industry's most cutting-edge and costliest chipmaking tools. The center is intended to better serve TSMC, ASML's biggest customer and the world's most valuable chip company.