Artificial intelligence debates in Europe often revolve around regulation, sovereignty and the dominance of American platforms. Less visible, but no less consequential, is the role played by non-European industrial powers whose technologies are deeply embedded in Europe’s digital and economic fabric. Samsung is one of them.
Photonics is not a buzzword. It is the technology that carries the internet across oceans, enables chips to be etched at atomic scale and forms the foundation of future quantum systems. From fibre-optic communications to advanced manufacturing, photonics has become a critical enabler of modern societies. By 2030, the global photonics market is expected to exceed one trillion dollars. Yet at the heart of this rapidly expanding field lies a strategic chokepoint: extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
