ASML CEO believes cheap AI models from DeepSeek will increase chip demand
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet made an unexpected statement, suggesting that the emergence of affordable artificial intelligence models like China’s DeepSeek will lead to increased, not decreased, demand for specialized AI chips.
The statement came amid impressive financial results from the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer. The company exceeded sales and profit forecasts for the fourth quarter, with its order portfolio reaching an impressive 36 billion euros ($37.4 billion) by the end of 2024. This news drove ASML’s shares up, dispelling investors’ concerns about possible semiconductor spending cuts due to DeepSeek’s model release.
“Reducing AI costs could mean more applications. More applications mean growing demand over time. We see this as an opportunity for increased chip demand,” Fouquet stated in a CNBC interview. He emphasized that hyperscalers – tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google – continue to actively invest in research and development, expanding data center infrastructure to support AI models.
Although the recently introduced open-source DeepSeek R1 model claimed superiority over OpenAI’s o1 in both cost and performance, ASML’s chief refrained from direct comments about the Chinese development. He noted that the company hadn’t received any inquiries from clients about DeepSeek model’s potential impact on chip demand.
ASML management’s position is particularly significant against the backdrop of serious tech stock declines this week, triggered by growing interest in the new DeepSeek model. The leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer’s confidence in demand stability could be an important signal for the entire technology sector.
