November 27th news, according to Taiwanese media reports, TSMC recently... Former senior vice president Luo Weiren "took away 20 boxes of confidential information" before leaving Intel , and went on to work there. The executive vice president of TSMC has filed a "temporary injunction" application with the courts in Taiwan, requesting a ban on him from working at Intel .
According to a reporter from *China Business Journal*, Intel CEO Chen Liwu responded to TSMC 's lawsuit against Luo Weiren, stating that TSMC 's accusations are baseless. In an internal memo to employees, Chen Liwu publicly denied all allegations regarding " intellectual property rights ." The accusation of "transfer".
This incident involves semiconductors. The involvement of these two leading companies in the field has attracted significant attention within the industry. Industry insiders believe that Luo Weiren, with nearly 30 years of experience in advanced process and packaging technologies, has led TSMC's technical team to obtain over 1,500 patents, making him a core technical talent at TSMC. Luo Weiren's "revolving door" trajectory reflects the fierce competition for core technical talent in the global semiconductor industry and the escalating competition within the semiconductor sector.
TSMC: Luo Weiren barred from joining Intel
TSMC confirmed on November 25 that it has formally filed a lawsuit against Luo Weiren in the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court, alleging that he violated the employment contract, non-compete agreement and relevant provisions of the Trade Secrets Act.
TSMC stated that during his tenure, Luo Weiren had signed confidentiality clauses and non-compete clauses after leaving the company. When TSMC's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Fang Shuhua, conducted his exit interview in July of this year, she specifically explained the non-compete obligations to Luo Weiren after leaving the company. Furthermore, when the Chief Legal Officer inquired about his plans after leaving the company, Luo Weiren responded that he would be working at an academic institution.
However, after leaving TSMC, Luo Weiren immediately went to Intel as executive vice president. He is "highly likely" to have used, disclosed, informed, delivered or transferred TSMC's trade secrets and confidential information to Intel. Therefore, TSMC is obligated to take legal action (including breach of contract damages).
According to Taiwanese media reports, Luo Weiren retired in July of this year, and it was later reported that he went to Intel to serve as the vice president of research and development at the end of October. It was also revealed that before leaving the company, he allegedly used his senior management position to ask team members to give him multiple technical briefings, and took away 20 boxes of photocopied and handwritten materials involving advanced processes such as 2-nanometer and 1.4-nanometer.
The departure of Luo Weiren has sparked considerable discussion within TSMC. Insiders revealed that Luo had a distinguished track record in his early career, allowing him to postpone his retirement for eight years. However, this year, his extension was not approved by the board, leading to speculation that he harbored resentment. TSMC Chairman Wei Zhejia's concerns extend beyond the departure of a veteran; rather, they reflect the emerging undercurrent of competition within TSMC's succession planning team.
It is understood that Taiwan's investigative authorities have launched an investigation into this case and will cooperate with the investigation to determine whether the case infringes on Taiwan's key core technologies.
According to publicly available information, 75-year-old Luo Weiren holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Physics and Surface Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously served as Associate Director of Advanced Technology Development and Plant Manager of CTM at Intel. He joined TSMC in 2004, initially as Vice President of Operations, and from 2006 to 2009 as Vice President of R&D. He was later promoted to Vice President of Advanced Technology Business and Manufacturing Technology within Operations. Under his leadership, TSMC's technology team has obtained over 1,500 patents.
Taiwanese media specifically mentioned that when TSMC encountered bottlenecks in its 10-nanometer technology, Luo Weiren proposed the famous "Night Hawk Project," dividing the R&D team into day and night groups to accelerate the development process 24/7. This ultimately helped them overcome the 10-nanometer technology hurdle, laying the foundation for subsequent more advanced processes. In 2011, TSMC founder Morris Chang personally presented Luo Weiren with the "TSMC Honorary Medal," TSMC's highest internal honor.
Intel: TSMC's accusations are baseless
In response to rumors that Luo Weiren had defected to Intel with a large amount of confidential information, Chen Liwu publicly stated that all accusations were rumors and conjectures, and had no basis whatsoever. Intel has always respected the intellectual property rights of others.
In a subsequent statement, Intel said, "Intel adheres to strict policies and controls that prohibit the use or transfer of any third party's confidential information or intellectual property . We take this commitment very seriously. Based on all the information we currently have, we have no reason to believe that the allegations against Luo Weiren are baseless."
Tung Tzu-hsien, honorary chairman of the Taipei Computer Association and chairman of Pegatron, believes that this case will be quite challenging and difficult in terms of intellectual property jurisdiction and practical operation, because it involves cross-border intellectual property rights and cross-border judicial jurisdiction.
Over the past decade, TSMC has monopolized most of the world's high-end AI chips thanks to its leading process technology and CoWoS advanced packaging technology. OEM market. Nvidia Flagship products such as the H100 and AMD MI300 rely on TSMC's production capacity, with orders even booked until 2026. Intel, on the other hand, lags behind in process technology. Although it has invested heavily in packaging technologies (such as Foveros and EMIB), its yield rate and cost control are not as good as TSMC's.
Starting in 2024, Intel launched its upgraded "IDM 2.0" strategy, attempting to compete for AI chip orders through a combination of open foundry services and advanced packaging. However, customers have doubts about the reliability of its technology. Against this backdrop, recruiting core technical talent from TSMC has become a preferred strategy. Although the current legal dispute stems from TSMC's claim that Luo Weiren's departure could lead to the leakage of his advanced chip technology, particularly key trade secrets such as the 2nm process, to Intel, from a technical perspective, there are significant differences between Intel and TSMC's process technology roadmaps. For example, Intel's 18A and subsequent processes utilize unique technologies such as PowerVia and RibbonFET, areas where TSMC has not yet followed suit.
Therefore, some industry analysts believe that Luo Weiren's value in joining Intel lies more in his deep understanding of supply chain dynamics, especially in meeting the needs of US customers seeking external foundry services, rather than in direct technology transfer. "Intel doesn't want Luo Weiren alone, but rather the technological system behind him and the trust of its customers," said an executive from a semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
According to a source familiar with TSMC's operations, TSMC does not entrust critical confidential data to a select few. Furthermore, it's rumored that Intel offered Luo Weiren an annual salary of hundreds of millions of dollars, suggesting that a strategy for dealing with TSMC's lawsuit had already been agreed upon. "TSMC's lawsuit at this time will have little intimidating effect." Analysts believe that TSMC's true intention may be to convey to the entire supply chain that it is severing ties with Luo Weiren and maintaining a distance from him.
Taiwan's United Daily News commented that this isn't the first time TSMC has encountered a leak of confidential information this year. This incident serves as a stark reminder that the chip war isn't just a competition in laboratories; it also occurs in personnel changes and every exit interview. "A seemingly ordinary job change may conceal a redistribution of the technological landscape; a seemingly simple promise may determine a company's competitiveness for the next decade." In this competition measured in nanometers, any breach could disrupt the balance of power across the entire industry.
Regarding this incident, a semiconductor industry insider told reporters that it serves as a stark warning for mainland Chinese companies; for companies, over-reliance on a few "star executives" poses significant risks; and for regulators, the legal boundaries of talent mobility need to be clearly defined. Currently, SMIC... Companies like Changxin Memory are accelerating their efforts to catch up and are also facing a talent war. How to attract international talent while preventing the leakage of core technologies will become a long-term challenge for related industries.
(Article source: China Business Network)
