Analyze ASML's capital structure, operational dependence on the US, and the political economy of using it as a European leverage point in AI compute governance, including who can enable or block such use.
About the project
ASML holds a near-monopoly on advanced lithography and is routinely invoked as the chokepoint of AI compute governance. Yet policy discussions rarely engage with practical details, such as:
- who actually owns ASML (shareholder structure, geographic distribution of investors)
- which parts of its operations and supply chain are US-based or fall under US export-control jurisdiction
- how the decision chain works in practice between the Dutch government, the EU, the US, and the company itself.
The brief will use this analysis to assess whether ASML is a credible governance lever.
Theory of change
Compute-based governance proposals implicitly assume the lithography chokepoint is actionable. If it is not, or only under specific political conditions, European policy proposals should be redesigned accordingly.
Your role
Mentee will research ownership data (filings, annual reports), map the legal and regulatory decision chain from primary and secondary sources, and co-draft the brief.
Prerequisites
- Familiarity with the AI risk literature.
- Basic understanding of semiconductor supply chains and export controls.
- Ability to read corporate filings and regulatory texts.
- Strong preference for French fluency, as final policy deliverables are written directly in French.
Location preference
No
Application question(s)
- Suggest next steps you would explore for investigating ASML’s ownership structure.
- Link to a writing sample, or other project you are proud of.
About the mentors
Jérémy Andréoletti is Head of Research at the General-Purpose AI Policy Lab, where he works on risk modeling, forecasting, and governance for advanced AI systems. He completed a PhD at ENS-PSL on macroevolutionary Bayesian modeling and co-founded EffiSciences to support students and researchers interested in high-impact work (AI Safety, biosecurity).
After graduating in physics from EPFL in Switzerland, Antoine is now an AI Security Researcher at General-Purpose AI Policy Lab, a French research organization specializing in security and international coordination challenges posed by frontier AI models' development. His research focuses on foundational arguments for loss of control scenarios and on identifying concrete approaches to prevent them.