Intel Corporation CEO crushes rumors of taking Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR secrets in advanced fabrication "life or death battle", emphasizes respect for IP.

This March, Lip-Bu Tan, the CEO of the long-standing chip giant Intel Corporation (INTC.US), took the helm, forcefully refuting reports that a new employee at Intel had leaked commercial secrets of the world's largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US). Tan stated that Intel respects the intellectual property of all chip companies. Media outlets have been closely following the career moves of the 75-year-old Lo Wen-jen, who recently retired from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and has now joined Intel Corporation. Reports from informed sources suggest that Lo took proprietary chip manufacturing technology from his former employer shortly before leaving. "These are just rumors and speculation in the market, without any basis. We respect all chip manufacturing intellectual property (IP)," Tan said during a media interview at the Semiconductor Industry Association awards ceremony in San Jose on Thursday. The event honored Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR CEO C.C. Wei and former Chairman Mark Liu with its highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR currently has a total market value of over 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars (Taiwan stock market), with a market capitalization based on the US stock ADR trading price reaching 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars. It has become the undisputed leader in chip manufacturing, surpassing the former semiconductor industry pioneer Intel Corporation. The company's proprietary data and advanced chip manufacturing technology are not only valuable trade secrets but also invaluable strategic assets. Media reports indicate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has begun investigating the reports about Lo Wen-jen to determine if anyone has violated any laws. A source revealed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has launched an internal investigation to determine if Lo Wen-jen took some commercial secrets without the company's official approval. The source added that it is not yet clear whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has reached any substantial conclusions about potential harm to commercial secrets and requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. Before retiring from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR in July, Lo Wen-jen was primarily responsible for the company's process strategy. He played a key role in the mass production of cutting-edge process chips, including those used in the most advanced AI accelerators designed by NVIDIA Corporation and AMD. Prior to joining Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR in 2004, Lo Wen-jen worked at Intel Corporation for a period of time, focusing on advanced technology development and managing a large wafer factory in Santa Clara, California. He holds a Ph.D. in solid-state physics and surface chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. In recent years, the relationship between Intel Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has been tense as Intel strives to catch up in the chip technology race. Intel Corporation is both a customer and a major competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, which holds a dominant position in the marketserving as the sole contract manufacturer of advanced chips for major U.S. chip companies like Apple Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, AMD, Qualcomm, Broadcom Inc., among others. Former Intel Corporation CEO Pat Gelsinger has repeatedly emphasized that the extreme dependence of the U.S. on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR for cutting-edge semiconductors is "too risky," sparking friction between the two companies. Reborn Intel Corporation urgently needs major customers to support its chip manufacturing business. For Intel Corporation, mastering leading-edge and highly scalable advanced process chip manufacturing technology is crucial. The American chip giant is even willing to purchase more expensive High-NA EUV lithography machinesASML Holding NV ADR recently delivered the world's first High-NA machine to Intel Corporationto strive for superior technology over Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Samsung Electronics in 2nm and below advanced chip manufacturing. For Intel Corporation's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, having global leadership in chip advanced process technology is not an "extra credit" but a "make-or-break" strategic core. Intel Corporation's publicly disclosed technology roadmap is ambitious: "5 nodes in 4 years" (5N4Y)advancing from Intel 7 to Intel 3, 20A, 18A (where 20A refers to the 2nm advanced process and 18A to the 1.8nm advanced process). Intel Corporation is struggling to achieve sustainable growth solely by selling its own PC/server CPUs. Although the company has emerged from a period of lackluster performance due to strong server CPU demand, shareholders want to see Intel Corporation regain strong growth and become a chip manufacturing giant rivaling Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR. As a result, Intel Corporation's strategy has shifted focus to Intel Foundry (systematic chip manufacturing)providing high-end advanced process chip manufacturing services for other companies, directly competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR. The 18A and more advanced 16A technologies are key points for Intel Corporation's turnaround. If 18A can match or even surpass Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR and Samsung in performance/energy efficiency, Intel Corporation will have the opportunity to provide advanced process chip manufacturing for AI accelerators (AI GPU/ASIC, etc.) to major customers such as NVIDIA Corporation, AMD, Broadcom Inc., and Qualcomm, who are currently experiencing explosive global demand. Qualcomm may potentially become Intel Corporation's first major customer for chip manufacturing. According to analysis of Qualcomm job postings by Wall Street financial giant Citigroup, Qualcomm may be considering Intel Corporation to manufacture its data center-specific artificial intelligence integrated circuits (AI ASICs). Citigroup states that these job postings are seeking candidates with qualifications in Intel Corporation's embedded multi-chip interconnection bridge packaging technology. Qualcomm introduced the Cloud AI 100 series for data centers/edge inference in 2019-2020 (followed by the Cloud AI 100 Ultra), and its recent launch of the AI200/AI250being the first to offer rack-scale solutions, with a single card supporting up to 768GB LPDDR, focusing on AI's large model high-efficiency inference, and boasting reduced total ownership costs (TCO) for AI data center operators through architectural features like near-memory compute. Qualcomm's recent release of the AI200/AI250 AI inference accelerators and corresponding rack-level AI computing cluster solutions could potentially drive the company's data center chip business to become a new "super engine" for growth from 2026 onwards. The AI200/AI250 targets AI data center room-level AI inference computing clusters, belonging to the AI-specific accelerator (AI ASIC) technology route to compete with Alphabet Inc. Class CTPU; AI200/AI250 and Alphabet Inc. Class CTPU both belong to the "ASIC-specific inference/training accelerator" technology family (Qualcomm emphasizes inference, TCO, and energy efficiency).