Intel (INTC) has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported.
Intel (INTC), which fended off calls for its CEO’s resignation from President Donald Trump in August over his alleged ties to China, got the tools from ACM Research (ACMR), a Fremont, California-based producer of chipmaking equipment, the report said.
Two of ACM’s units, based in Shanghai and South Korea, were among several firms barred last year from receiving U.S. technology over claims they have supported the Chinese government’s efforts at harnessing commercial technology for military use and making advanced chips or chipmaking tools. ACM denies the allegations.
The two so-called wet etch tools, used for removing material from the silicon wafers that are transformed into semiconductors, were tested for possible use in Intel’s most advanced chipmaking process, known as 14A. That process is due for an initial launch in 2027, the report added.
Reuters could not determine if Intel had made a decision to add the tools to the advanced chipmaking process and has no evidence that the company violated any U.S. regulations.
ACM, according to the report, said it could not comment on “specific customer engagements,” but can confirm that “ACMR’s U.S. team has sold and delivered multiple tools from our Asian operations to domestic customers.”
It also said it has disclosed the shipment of three tools to a “major U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer,” which are being tested and some of which have met performance standards, the report added.