Intel (INTC) CEO Lip-Bu Tan denied allegations of taking trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) related to its recent hire of long-time TSMC executive Wei-Jen Lo, according to Bloomberg.
The 75-year-old Lo retired from TSMC in July after serving more than 20 years with the company. He was most recently the senior vice president of corporate strategy development for TSMC. He was instrumental in developing some of TSMC’s advanced node technology. Intel recently hired Lo as vice president of research and development.
TSMC has allegedly started an internal investigation to determine if Lo took trade secrets regarding advanced node technology, the report said. However, Tan steadfastly rejected the allegations.
“It’s rumor and speculation,” Tan said to Bloomberg during the Semiconductor Industry Association Awards in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. “There’s nothing to it. We respect IP.”
Before joining TSMC in 2004, Lo worked at Intel for several years, serving as director of technology development and a plant manager. He earned his Ph.D. in solid-state physics and surface chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.
Intel is attempting to strengthen its Foundry business, while TSMC continues to gain steam with its own, manufacturing chips for the world’s biggest hardware companies, such as AMD (AMD), Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA).
Intel shares have surged 67% in 2025 after securing a significant slate of investments and deals. Japan’s SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY)(OTCPK:SFTBF) completed a $2B investment in Intel in late September. This followed Intel and Nvidia signing a deal that would see the duo co-develop PC and data center chips. Nvidia also said it would take a $5B stake in Intel. In August, the Trump Administration took an $11.1B, or 10%, stake in Intel.
Reports have also surfaced of Intel in talks with companies such as AMD and Apple to manufacture chips in its Foundry. Earlier this week, it was reported Qualcomm (QCOM) was possibly evaluating Intel Foundry for its data center ASIC business.