Trump’s ire with Intel boss adds to woes for chip maker

The US president posted on Thursday that Lip-Bu Tan is “highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately”. Trump’s allegations built on a letter to Intel from Republican Senator Tom Cotton which, in essence, painted Tan as a potential national security risk, due to his past interactions with China. Tan says he loves America, of which he is a citizen, and points out he was born in Malaysia to parents of Chinese descent, educated in Singapore and the US, and spent 40 years climbing to the top of America’s tech industry.

Last month, Cadence Design Systems, where Tan was CEO and then executive chairman until 2023, paid a fine of $140m and pleaded guilty to illegally exporting semiconductor design tools to a Chinese military university while he was in charge. At the very least, that is not a good look for the new CEO of a company that was a focus of national security concerns even before Trump returned to office. Cotton posed a fair question when he asked Intel’s chairman: “What measures were taken to address concerns about Cadence’s activities under Mr Tan?”

Intel’s bosses used to be industry legends, among them Gordon Moore, who gave his name to the driving force of tech innovation, Moore’s Law. After recent disappointments, the board may have pursued the most accomplished tech executive available, without seeing the bigger picture of how business is politicised under Trump.

Photograph by Getty