TSMC and ASML are teaming up to move chipmaking to bigger photomasks, a long-term positive for chip costs and for AI hardware makers.

• TSMC will work with ASML to shift from 6-inch to 12-inch EUV photomasks, the templates used to print circuits onto silicon.
• A pilot line is planned for 2031, with full production around 2033.
• Bigger masks should make chip factories more productive and cut the cost of each chip.
• They also remove the need to stitch two smaller masks together on the newest High NA machines.
• TSMC plans to start mass production using ASML's High NA tools in 2030, as AI chips demand ever more complex designs.

Outlook: Chipmakers will keep using 6-inch masks for years, so the real payoff lands early next decade.