Taiwanese foundry TSMC believes a former executive has leaked company secrets to Intel and is testing the matter in court.
The exec is Wei-Jen Lo who, according to a TSMC regulatory filing, joined the company in 2004, rose to become a senior vice-president in 2014. In 2024 he took a job in the company’s Corporate Strategy Development team that saw him required to provide counsel to chairman and CEO Dr. C.C. Wei.
TSMC’s filing alleges that in that role Lo met with R&D staff, despite the job not involving oversight of their teams, and sought information about “the advanced technologies currently, and planned to be, under development by TSMC.”
Lo retired from TSMC last July, and in his exit interview said he planned to join an academic institution. TSMC says the exit interview also saw its general counsel remind Lo of the non-disclosure agreement and non-compete agreement he had previously signed.
- Intel CTO and AI boss quits to join OpenAI after just six months in the job
- TSMC hurrying to bring advanced chip tech to Arizona fab
- Inside the belly of the beast: A technical walk through Intel’s 18A production facility at Fab52
- Panther Lake sets stage for Intel’s 2 nm comeback, but many details still TBD
Imagine TSMC’s surprise, then, when he joined Intel.
Intel can certainly use people with knowledge of TSMC’s foundry practices, because the Taiwanese company’s manufacturing processes are acknowledged as the only ones capable of making the world’s most advanced semiconductors.
TSMC’s prowess even exceeds Intel’s: The American