In The Netherlands stands one of the world's biggest drivers of technological progress: ASML. It supplies machines that make chips on a scale of just a few nanometers. And the world is crying out for chips.

ASML makes the most advanced machine in the world; the lithography machine to make computer chips. And with chips as a strategic asset, ASML and its machine are at the center of the world geo-political stage. What is ASML's secret, and who are the people who build this wondrous machine?

VPRO Backlight gained access to the ins and outs of the high-tech company and followed a number of employees. Due to the high demand for chips, chip manufacturers are expanding rapidly. ASML also has to scale up at the same pace. The company hires a hundred new employees every week and tries to attract technical talent from all over the world to Veldhoven.

At the same time, ASML has become a geopolitical plaything, due to the global shortage of chips and the dominance that chip production entails. How is this outside pressure having an impact inside ASML's walls?

Directed by Kees Brouwer
Research: Arnout Arens
Editing: Jouke Dubel
Production: Marie Schutgens
Final editing: Doke Romeijn, Geert Rozinga

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