Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are each putting 10 trillion to 20 trillion won into ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools, Chosun Biz reported on November 8, citing the industry. ASML said on October 14 that its supply as currently planned for 2027 and 2028 “will not fully meet the demand of our customers”.
SK Hynix disclosed an EUV purchase of about 11.95 trillion won in March. By our arithmetic, that is about €6.89 billion, or up to 29 standard EUV tools at ASML’s 2025 average of €237.4 million each: two-thirds of the 44 such systems ASML recognised in all of 2025.
Business Pill · Lead Time
A short Business Engineer explainer on lead time, the gap between an order and its delivery. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss ASML, Samsung or SK Hynix.
The key insight: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are each putting 10 trillion to 20 trillion won into ASML EUV tools, Chosun Biz reported, while ASML says its planned 2027 and 2028 supply will not fully meet customer demand. By our arithmetic, SK Hynix’s 11.95 trillion won March purchase equals up to 29 standard EUV tools at 2025 averages.
Both companies are scheduled to receive EUV tools from ASML in stages starting next year, Chosun Biz reported. It said lead times for critical tools have stretched to as much as twice what they were, and that the two companies are considering moving up the timing of their orders.
The paper said additional orders are planned depending on circumstances, so capital spending is likely to rise further. It described “securing delivery slots” as the key to expanding advanced DRAM.
For Samsung, Chosun Biz tied the orders to Pyeongtaek Line 5 (P5), part of a 450 trillion won, five-year domestic investment plan announced last November with a 2028 operating target. It reported that P5 is known to need more than 60 trillion won per fab, that tool move-in is expected after the first-phase cleanroom is finished in the first half of next year, and that Samsung has already ordered lithography tools for the line. None of the sources we reviewed gives a value for Samsung’s order.
Each dot is one standard EUV tool. Top: the 44 NXE systems ASML recognised in 2025, with SK Hynix’s 11.95 trillion won March purchase shown as up to 29 of them at the 2025 average (our arithmetic; an upper bound, since the amount includes installation and maintenance). Bottom: about 65 EUV shipments in 2026, as reported by Chosun Biz. Sources: ASML 2025 annual report; SK Hynix filing as reported by Green Economy and Chosun Biz; ECB rate of 24 March 2026.
What SK Hynix Disclosed in March
On March 24, SK Hynix disclosed that it would bring in EUV scanners from ASML, Green Economy reported. The total acquisition amount was about 11.95 trillion won, equal to 9.97% of its total assets at the end of 2024, and covers the equipment as well as installation and maintenance costs. The deal runs over about two years, to December 2027.
SK Hynix plans to use the tools to speed its move to the sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1c) DRAM process, according to the same report. Chosun Biz cited TrendForce as saying SK Hynix plans to use EUV on more than five layers of 1c DRAM, two more than the previous generation.
What ASML Said
In its third-quarter release, ASML said customers keep raising their equipment demand forecasts, “driven primarily by their views on the size and duration of AI-related investments”. It added that “some customers are expressing an interest in placing orders with us for 2029 and even 2030”.
ASML had planned to raise 2026 low-NA EUV and DUV immersion capacity by 30% in 2027 and was investigating a further 30% for 2028, its release notes. It now says it is “investigating ways to increase capacity for 2028 beyond the 30% increase we previously communicated”.
Chosun Biz reported that ASML’s EUV shipments this year are about 65 units, up nearly 50% from 44 last year, and that memory accounted for 46% of ASML’s third-quarter system sales. Those two figures are the paper’s; they are not in ASML’s release.
Our Arithmetic: What 11.95 Trillion Won Buys
ASML’s Q3 release gives no tool prices. As we reported in our guide to ASML machine pricing, ASML’s 2025 annual report shows 44 standard EUV (NXE) systems recognised for €10,445.8 million, about €237.4 million each on average, and 4 High-NA systems at about €289 million each.
At the European Central Bank’s rate of 1,734.48 won per euro on March 24, the day of the filing, 11.95 trillion won is about €6.89 billion. Divided by €237.4 million, that is about 29 tools, or 66% of ASML’s 2025 NXE count. This is our arithmetic, not a disclosed count.
It is an upper bound. The amount also covers installation and maintenance, any High-NA tools in the order would cost more each, and prices may have changed since 2025. None of the sources we reviewed gives the number of tools in either company’s order.
The Business Lever: Delivery Slots
Chosun Biz frames delivery slots as the gate on new advanced DRAM, and ASML says its planned supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet demand. EUV was already 57% of ASML’s net system sales in the second quarter, as we reported in July.
The squeeze reaches past lithography, the paper reported. Back-end makers have two to three years of orders, and Hanmi Semiconductor and Amkor have nearly finished securing order volumes, according to Chosun Biz. Both are adding capacity for tools such as thermo-compression bonders used in AI data centres.
The Structural Read
As we read the reports, the scarce input is the delivery slot: Chosun Biz says lead times for critical tools have stretched to as much as twice what they were.
As we read ASML’s release, demand is now being booked further out, with some customers asking about orders for 2029 and 2030.
As we read the arithmetic, one memory maker’s single disclosed purchase is sized at up to two-thirds of ASML’s 2025 NXE count.
ASML, Q3 2026 results release (14 Oct 2026)
“we now expect that our supply as currently planned for both 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet the demand of our customers”
Three Implications
FOR MEMORY BUYERS Chosun Biz reported that Samsung and SK Hynix are considering moving up the timing of their orders, and that additional orders are planned depending on circumstances.
FOR ASML ASML said it is investigating ways to increase capacity for 2028 beyond the 30% increase it previously communicated.
FOR BACK-END SUPPLIERS Chosun Biz reported that back-end equipment makers have two to three years of orders, naming Hanmi Semiconductor and Amkor.
The framework says: “The AI race has a new bottleneck, and it’s not what most observers expect.”
As we read it, the EUV orders sit one layer below the memory the framework discusses: the machines that print it. The framework does not discuss ASML, EUV delivery slots or this report.
What Is Not Established
The 10 trillion to 20 trillion won per company is Chosun Biz citing the industry; none of the sources we reviewed includes a confirmation from Samsung or SK Hynix, or a value for Samsung’s EUV order. ASML’s release does not name the customers behind its orders. The 65-unit shipment figure for this year is the paper’s, not ASML’s. The 29-tool figure is our estimate from 2025 averages.
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Samsung and SK Hynix are each committing 10 trillion to 20 trillion won to ASML EUV tools, Chosun Biz reported, while ASML says its planned 2027 and 2028 supply falls short of demand. SK Hynix’s 11.95 trillion won March purchase alone equals up to 29 standard EUV tools at 2025 averages, by our arithmetic: two-thirds of what ASML recognised in 2025.
A note on sourcing. The 10 trillion to 20 trillion won per company, the shipment count and the memory share are Chosun Biz’s reporting, citing the industry. SK Hynix’s March disclosure is as reported by Green Economy and Chosun Biz. ASML quotations are from its October 14 release. The euro conversion uses the ECB reference rate; the tool count is our arithmetic from ASML’s 2025 annual report averages.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
