TSMC senior vice president Wei-Jen Lo has moved to Intel, drawing industry attention over potential risks to sensitive advanced-process expertise, and new details are now emerging. According to Liberty Times, industry sources say investigators searched Lo’ s residence in late November, seized multiple boxes of materials, and found a substantial amount of confidential information related to TSMC’s advanced process technologies that are under development. The report says the materials were taken without authorization from TSMC, and there may be evidence of a violation of the National Security Act.

As the report notes, Lo holds U.S. citizenship and has settled in the country. It adds that if authorities later summon him for testimony and he fails to appear in accordance with the law, he could face compulsory detention and be placed on a wanted list. Meanwhile, the court has approved the seizure of Lo’s shares and real-estate assets, which industry estimates value at more than NT$20 billion.

In addition, sources cited by Taiwan Television Enterprise say TSMC has notified relevant supply-chain partners not to provide any confidential information to Lo and has comprehensively changed the project code names for its advanced-process programs to prevent him from gaining further access to internal advanced-process secrets.

TSMC Lawsuit and Intel’s Response

Lo retired from TSMC in late July this year and took on a vice president role at rival Intel by late October. According to Economic Daily News, TSMC confirmed that it filed a lawsuit with the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court on November 25, accusing Lo of breaching a non-compete agreement and misappropriating trade secrets by failing to disclose his move to the company.

As Liberty Times notes, TSMC states that for more than a year before his retirement, Lo had been reassigned to the role of senior vice president in the Corporate Strategy Development Division, where his responsibilities no longer required oversight or management of R&D operations. However, Lo continued to request meetings with R&D teams and sought access to materials to gain insight into advanced process technologies under development.

Amid the controversy, Intel has voiced its support for Lo. OregonLive reports that in late November, CEO Lip-Bu Tan reassured employees that the company acted responsibly in hiring Lo, said he “continues to have our full support,” and dismissed the allegations as “lacking merit,” pushing back against the new lawsuit from the Taiwanese foundry giant.

Read more

• [News] Intel Stands Firm on Lo Hire Amid TSMC Trade Secret Dispute: CEO Vows Support, Dismisses Claims
• [News] Ex-TSMC SVP Wei-Jen Lo Moves to Intel: Sub-2nm Data Leak Concerns and TSMC Strategy in Focus

(Photo credit: ITRI)