Reuters reported completely in April that Mr. Tan — himself or via enterprise funds he has based or operates — invested at the very least $200 million in lots of of Chinese superior manufacturing and chip corporations, a few of that are linked to the Chinese navy.
Mr. Trump’s feedback got here a day after Reuters was first to report that Republican Senator Tom Cotton had despatched a letter to Intel’s board chair with questions on Mr. Tan’s ties to Chinese corporations and a latest felony case involving his former agency Cadence Design.
“There is no other solution to this problem,” Mr. Trump stated in a publish on his Truth Social platform, knocking shares of Intel down round 2% in early U.S. buying and selling.
A change in management at Intel may pile strain on the corporate, which can be a pillar of U.S. efforts to spice up home chipmaking. Last 12 months it secured $8 billion in subsidies, the most important outlay beneath the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, to construct new fabs in Ohio and different states.
Analysts debated whether or not Mr. Trump ought to be making calls on company management.
“It would be setting a very unfortunate precedent. You don’t want American presidents dictating who runs companies, but certainly his opinion has merit and weight,” stated Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, which doesn’t personal Intel shares.
David Wagner, head of fairness and portfolio supervisor at Intel shareholder Aptus Capital Advisors, responded that whereas “many investors likely believe that President Trump has his hand in too many cookie jars, it’s just another signal that he’s very serious about trying to bring business back to the U.S.”
Intel and Mr. Tan, who took over as CEO in March, didn’t instantly reply to Reuters requests for remark. An Intel spokesperson stated in a press release on Wednesday that “Intel and Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the U.S. and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defence ecosystem.”
Reuters in April reported that Mr. Tan between March 2012 and December 2024 invested in Chinese corporations, together with in contractors and suppliers for the People’s Liberation Army, in line with a assessment of Chinese company databases cross-referenced with U.S. and analyst lists of firms with connections to the Chinese navy.
Reuters recognized 20 funding funds and corporations the place his enterprise capital agency Walden is at present a joint proprietor together with Chinese authorities funds or state-owned enterprises, in line with Chinese company information. The authorities funds are largely from municipal governments of Chinese tech hubs like Hangzhou, Hefei, and Wuxi.
A supply aware of the matter had on the time instructed Reuters that Mr. Tan had divested his positions in entities in China, with out offering additional particulars. Chinese databases reviewed by Reuters on the time had listed a lot of his investments as present, and Reuters was on the time unable to determine the extent of his divestitures.
Mr. Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American enterprise govt, was additionally the CEO of Cadence Design from 2008 via December 2021 throughout which the chip design software program maker bought merchandise to a Chinese navy college believed to be concerned in simulating nuclear explosions.
Cadence final month agreed to plead responsible and pay greater than $140 million to resolve the U.S. costs over the gross sales, a deal Reuters first reported.
Business turmoil
“This all boils down to Lip Bu’s past involvement and investment in Chinese semiconductors, which is also what makes him so valuable as CEO,” stated Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.
Once the dominant pressure in chip-making, Intel has in recent times misplaced its manufacturing edge to Taiwanese rival TSMC. It additionally has just about no presence within the booming marketplace for synthetic intelligence chips dominated by Nvidia.
Its shares are little modified thus far in 2025, after dropping greater than 60% final 12 months. The firm’s market worth has fallen under $100 billion, with revenue margins — as soon as the envy of the trade — working at about half their historic highs.
To revive Intel’s fortunes, Mr. Tan has set a aim of slashing the chipmaker’s workforce by round 22% to 75,000 individuals by year-end. Intel has additionally warned of exiting chip manufacturing if it fails to safe a serious buyer, a probably drastic transfer.
