Indeed. I've heard that there was a lead time of about 12 years on the EUV machines at ASML. I had a tour of one off their facilities once (generic recruitment

Indeed. I've heard that there was a lead time of about 12 years on the EUV machines at ASML. I had a tour of one off their facilities once (generic recruitment thingy). Back in early 2000s they were working to correct for errors where the margin of error on their error detector was greater than the error that needed correcting. (The wave length used was about an order of magnitude greater than the lirhography result; I have no recollection of how they claimed to handle that.) They are pushing the boundaries of what's possible, using incredibly long lead times. I don't see how any start-up can compete with that, even in the absence of patents.