ASML’s computational litho has become a crucial part of the Veldhoven company’s chip production offering. If copies exist of the stolen Brion software, these could help the Chinese litho supplier Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment to get its machines ready for more advanced production.
Under the direction of start-up XTAL, employees at ASML Brion stole technology that’s being developed by the subsidiary in San Jose. At ASML, a company with high employee engagement, the intellectual property theft by (former) colleagues will have dealt a serious blow to the team spirit at the time it happened. The 200 million dollars that ASML received last year to cover the damages are only a meager compensation.
ASML increased its security policies after the XTAL incident and a hack in 2015. Yet the IP robbery shows the downsides of rapid expansion, the acquisition of crucial technology and an increasingly complex organization, technology and worldwide playing field.
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