November 29, 2025 – Yesterday, tech media outlet Wccftech published a blog post regarding the lawsuit filed by TSMC against its former Senior Vice President, Luo Weiren. In response, Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, addressed the situation in an internal memo to employees.
In the memo, Tan categorically denied all allegations of “intellectual property transfer” and emphasized that the company “fully supports” Luo’s joining Intel, stating that TSMC’s accusations are baseless. This marks the first time Intel’s CEO has publicly named and backed Luo, suggesting that the personnel appointment may have reached a final decision.
According to the blog post, the legal dispute arose because TSMC believes that Luo’s move to Intel could potentially lead to the leakage of advanced chip technologies he is familiar with, particularly critical business secrets related to 2nm process technology, giving Intel an unfair competitive advantage.
As a result, TSMC formally filed a lawsuit the day before in an attempt to prevent potential technology leaks. However, Intel firmly rejected these claims and reiterated that the company has no intention of violating any intellectual property laws.
In the memo, Intel specifically highlighted that Luo had previously worked at Intel for 18 years, focusing on the R&D of wafer processing technologies, before joining TSMC to continue his related work.
Intel also stated that the company has strict internal policies and control measures in place to prohibit the use or transfer of any third-party confidential information or intellectual property. This statement aims to dispel concerns that Intel might acquire competitor technologies through poaching.
From a technical perspective, there are significant differences between Intel’s and TSMC’s process technology roadmaps. For example, Intel’s 18A and subsequent processes incorporate unique technologies such as PowerVia and RibbonFET, and the company is an early adopter of high-numerical-aperture (High-NA) EUV lithography technology, areas where TSMC has yet to follow suit.
Therefore, industry analysts believe that Luo’s value to Intel lies more in his deep understanding of supply chain dynamics, especially in meeting the needs of U.S. customers seeking external foundry services, rather than in direct technology transfer.
