On Thursday, Taiwan prosecutors searched the homes of a former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM) vice president after the chipmaker accused him of passing confidential information to Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC).
Homes Searched, Devices Seized In Trade Secrets Probe
The Taiwan prosecutors’ intellectual property branch raided two residences linked to Wei-Jen Lo, a former TSMC executive who joined Intel in October, reported Reuters.
Prosecutors said they also seized computers, USB drives and other storage devices as potential evidence.
Authorities said Lo is suspected of violating Taiwan's National Security Act, which protects strategically important technologies.
A court also approved a request to freeze his shares and real estate holdings as the probe continues, the report said.
See Also: Trump Pressures Taiwan To Train US Workers As TSMC Struggles In Arizona: Report
TSMC Flags ‘High Probability' Of Leaked Advanced Chip Technology
TSMC said earlier this week it filed a lawsuit after determining there was a "high probability" Lo used or disclosed its trade secrets, including sensitive details tied to its 5-nanometer, 3-nm and 2-nm manufacturing processes.
The company said legal action became necessary because of the potential transfer of "confidential information" to Intel.
Lo spent 21 years at TSMC, where he played a key role in the mass production of its most advanced nodes. Before joining the company in 2004, he spent 18 years at Intel.
Intel Strongly Denies Allegations, Defends Executive
Intel rejected TSMC's claims, saying it has "no reason to believe" the accusations have merit based on its internal review.
The company also stressed that employee movement between chipmakers is a "common and healthy" industry practice.
Intel and TSMC did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.
The probe unfolds as Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan steers the company's turnaround by sharpening its engineering priorities, accelerating AI development and rebuilding its foundry operations to catch up with TSMC, which still leads advanced chip production for Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show that while TSMC's short-term trend has turned negative, the company continues to post a strong price trend over the medium and long term. Click here to see how it compares with industry peers.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
