Christoph Puké, ASML Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is presenting the Q4 earnings report on this day in Veldhoven, Netherlands. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML noted on the 29th (local time) that the achievement of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup Deep Chic in lowering the unit cost of AI is "pleasant news" from ASML's perspective.

Christophe Pooke, ASML Chief Executive Officer (CEO), responded to related questions during a 2024 fourth quarter earnings press conference held in Veldhoven, Netherlands, according to reports from Reuters and AFP. Pooke said, "Lower expenses mean that AI can be utilized in many applications, which in turn indicates an increase in demand for semiconductor production. We are a company that provides equipment for semiconductor production."

He analyzed that the current AI industry faces excessively high expenses and energy inefficiency issues, and noted that Deep Chic's so-called "cost-effective AI" model reflects these problems.

He continued, "If the unit cost does not decrease, only a small number of expensive semiconductors will continue to be sold, which will only satisfy a few, and fundamentally, AI technology will not be introduced to the general public, causing the overall market size to remain small."

Pooke announced that last year's fourth quarter revenue was 9.3 billion euros (approximately 14 trillion won), exceeding the initial estimate of 8.8 billion to 9.2 billion euros. He also emphasized that the annual revenue for 2024 would be 28.3 billion euros (approximately 42.6 trillion won), marking a "record year."