SINGAPORE: Intel CEO Tan Lip-Bu said that the company is engaging with the United States administration after President Donald Trump demanded his resignation over concerns about his ties to Chinese firms through several investments.
“We are engaging with the administration to address the matters that have been raised and ensure they have the facts,” Tan said in a note sent to all Intel Corporation employees on Thursday (Aug 7).
He said there has been “a lot of misinformation circulating” about his past roles at Walden International and Cadence Design Systems.
“I want to be absolutely clear: Over 40+ years in the industry, I’ve built relationships around the world and across our diverse ecosystem – and I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards,” Tan added.
“My reputation has been built on trust – on doing what I say I’ll do, and doing it the right way. This is the same way I am leading Intel.”
Walden International, a venture capital firm, was founded by Tan in 1987. Through the company, he became a seed investor in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest chip foundry.
From 2009 to 2021, Tan was the CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a chip design software firm.
Trump on Thursday demanded that Tan resign “immediately” after Republican Senator Tom Cotton raised national security concerns over his links to firms in China.
Cotton alleged that Tan controls dozens of Chinese companies and holds stakes in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms.
The US senator also noted that Cadence Design Systems recently “pleaded guilty to illegally selling its products to a Chinese military university”. While heading the company, Tan transferred “its technology to an associated Chinese semiconductor company without obtaining licences”, Cotton said.
