[News] Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Denies Allegations That Former TSMC Exec Brought Trade Secrets In

With speculation mounting that former TSMC SVP Wei-Jen Lo may have taken key materials to Intel, the company’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has spoken out in response. According to Bloomberg, Tan describes the claims as rumor and speculation, stressing that the company respects intellectual property.

As the report notes, Tan made the comments while attending the Semiconductor Industry Association Awards in San Jose on Thursday. At the event, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei and former Chairman Mark Liu were honored with the organization’s top distinction, the Robert N. Noyce Award.

Tan does not address the personnel matter directly, and TSMC has not filed a lawsuit against Lo at this stage, as noted by China Times. The outlet adds, citing sources, that the company is still working to clarify the situation and has begun internal fact-finding.

Meanwhile, according to China Times, Yeh Chun-hsien — head of Taiwan’s National Development Council (NDC), a TSMC board member, and the company’s largest individual shareholder — says Lo was reassigned from core units more than a year ago as he prepared for retirement, moving into non-core roles that did not involve access to trade secrets.

Yeh adds that the initial assessment suggests the impact is limited. As noted by Central News Agency, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office says its Intellectual Property Branch has opened a case to determine whether any wrongdoing is involved.

After retiring from TSMC earlier this year, Lo went on to join Intel. As first reported by Liberty Times, Lo allegedly used his senior vice-president authority to instruct subordinates to brief him and copy sensitive TSMC materials related to 2nm, A16, A14, and other next-generation process technologies. Economic Daily News, citing sources, reports that he may have taken more than 20 boxes of handwritten documents compiled by his staff.

Read more

• [News] Former TSMC SVP Wei-Jen Lo Said to Have Joined Intel, Allegedly Bringing Sub-2nm Process Files
• [News] Ex-TSMC SVP Wei-Jen Lo Moves to Intel: Sub-2nm Data Leak Concerns and TSMC Strategy in Focus

(Photo credit: Intel)