TSMC investigates former Executive who retired and went to Intel.

Bloomberg (paywalled):

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan dismissed reports about a new hire taking trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to his company, saying the US chipmaker respects other firms’ intellectual property.

Taiwanese newspapers spent the week reporting on the transition of Lo Wen-jen, 75, from his retirement from TSMC earlier this year to joining Intel in recent weeks. The executive is alleged to have taken proprietary knowhow from his former employer just before his departure.

“It’s rumor and speculation. There’s nothing to it. We respect IP,” Tan told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the Semiconductor Industry Association Awards in San Jose on Thursday. […]

TSMC has opened an internal investigation about whether Lo has taken trade secrets without its consent, according to a person familiar with the matter. It is unclear whether TSMC has reached a conclusion about any potential damage to the company, the person added, asking not to be identified since the information is private.

Lo Wen-jen’s role at TSMC:

Lo was responsible for corporate strategy before his retirement from TSMC in July. He was at one point in charge of research and technology development at TSMC and played a key role in facilitating the mass production at TSMC of cutting-edge chips, including those used to make AI accelerators. He is also a laureate of Taiwan’s prestigious Industrial Technology Research Institute.

He also was part of Intel before he joined TSMC:

Before he joined TSMC in 2004, Lo spent some time at Intel focusing on advanced technology development, including running a chip factory in Santa Clara, California. He has a doctorate degree in solid state physics and surface chemistry from UC Berkeley.

Many companies have this issue, but things get more sensitive when TSMC gets involved, being the low-key hub of the world’s economy.