Recently, the major event in the semiconductor industry is definitely the fact that Luo Weiren, the retired deputy general manager of TSMC, the leading wafer foundry, was reported to have stolen advanced process data including below 2 nanometers, an...
Recently, the major event in the semiconductor industry is definitely the fact that Luo Weiren, the retired deputy general manager of TSMC, the leading wafer foundry, was reported to have stolen advanced process data including below 2 nanometers, and jumped to competitor Intel. Since this matter, once confirmed, will not only affect the competitiveness between TSMC and Intel, but may also test the cooperative relationship between Taiwan and the United States, the process is particularly eye-catching.
In this regard, market participants said that TSMC seemed to have known about Luo Weiren's move to Intel in advance, and therefore offered various courtesy to Luo Weiren to think about the next step. However, Luo Weiren was not stopped in the end, and he might even defect to Intel with a large amount of technical documents and a gun. However, TSMC has not made any statement or complaint so far, which is interesting in this regard.
Luo Weiren has experience in the two core areas of TSMC's internal operations and R&D. He served as the deputy general manager of the operations organization and served as the deputy general manager of R&D from 2006 to 2009. Subsequently, he was promoted to Deputy General Manager of Manufacturing Technology for the Advanced Technology Business and Operations Organization. In addition, it is rumored that Luo Weiren's contribution to TSMC is crucial. He has promoted the mass production of advanced processes and successfully introduced key EUV lithography technology.
Luo Weiren even further established a 7×24 R&D center to accelerate the introduction of technology into mass production. In addition, the "One-Team" collaboration model was also promoted during his tenure, and its model integrates R&D and production processes. In addition, he was involved in important planning in terms of equipment investment and technology decisions.
Moreover, according to public information, the team led by Luo Weiren has obtained more than 1,500 patents worldwide, of which approximately 1,000 are U.S. patents. During his tenure, Luo Weiren was committed to providing customers with more comprehensive and innovative solutions and helping customers face severe technical challenges. However, before joining TSMC, he served as associate director of advanced technology development and director of CTM fab at Intel. Therefore, after his retirement in July 2025, there are rumors in the industry that Luo Weiren will return to his old employer Intel and take charge of the R&D department.
For such a general with outstanding military exploits, TSMC naturally treats him as a treasure. In particular, since Luo Weiren has participated in many advanced process development operations, in addition to taking great care of him, on the other hand, it is natural to prevent him from being poached, which will affect TSMC's market competitiveness. Therefore, there are rumors in the market that before Luo Weiren retired, the company already knew that he might return to Intel, so it may have given Luo Weiren various courtesy benefits to give up the idea of going to Intel.
Among them, in terms of Lizi, according to data from the Public Information Observatory, TSMC announced at the end of April 2025 the list of new shares issued with restricted employee rights in 2024. Luo Weiren was the highest among all five vice presidents to receive hundreds of millions of new employee shares with a market price of 116,800 shares. He was also the highest ranking person after Chairman and President Wei Zhejia with 412,300 shares. Based on the market value at the time, the new employee shares received by Luo Weiren were worth more than NT$104 million.
In terms of face, when Luo Weiren retired in September, he and TSMC Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Mi Yujie took over the title of Academician of the Industrial Research Institute from Vice President Xiao Meiqin in recognition of his contribution to TSMC and Taiwan Semiconductor. However, none of these actions moved Luo Weiren's attitude, and he still insisted on working for his rival Intel.
Market participants pointed out that since Luo Weiren does not appreciate the courtesy that TSMC has given both face and dignity, it should have made TSMC unhappy. Now, it is even more rumored that Luo Weiren took advanced process materials below 2 nanometers to Intel. This not only shocked the top government officials due to national security issues, but even caused the inspection unit to open a case for investigation. However, TSMC has still not made any statement in this regard, or even made any relevant filings. This is very different from the previous leaks of Engineer 2 nanometers, which were proactively reported by TSMC and cooperated with the investigation and investigation. No wonder, even Lu Xingzhi, a former well-known foreign analyst, said on his Facebook fan page, is there something fishy about this matter?
It is understood that Luo Weiren's return to the company is quite confidential within Intel. Currently, only some senior officials are aware of it. It was even rumored that Luo Weiren may serve as a consultant rather than an official position, so Intel does not need to make an announcement. But in any case, it is reported that Intel's internal staff is very polite to Luo Weiren's arrival. Therefore, it has been reported that TSMC already knew in advance that Luo Weiren would go to Intel after his retirement. Why did he return to Intel? Is he determined to go? Or is it a tacit agreement with TSMC? This is what the market will focus on next.
Relevant market insiders said that if Luo Weiren insisted on going to Intel, the outside world would question whether TSMC and Intel's manufacturing processes were different, whether he could command Intel's R&D team, and even some employees had privately questioned Luo Weiren. When TSMC's development of 2nm was stalled in the later period, Luo Weiren did not see what experience and strength he had contributed. Even if there is no non-competition clause in California, it would be difficult for TSMC to sue him. 75 After retiring at the age of 18, everyone is curious about the reason why he took the risk of breaking up with TSMC, which he has had many years of friendship with, and jumped into the hot pit of Intel with a large amount of information.
And if he had reached a tacit understanding with TSMC in advance about going to Intel, allowing TSMC to acquiesce in his going there with a large amount of information but has not yet made any action to file a complaint, this would make people question the real purpose of TSMC.. Lu Xingzhi said on his Facebook fan page, "If this is true, what I don't understand is why some important veteran cadres who have contributed to TSMC for decades and retired honorably (not changed jobs, nor were fired) always come back to the flowers, unwilling to be lonely, join competitors to compete for jobs with the old employer, and also help the new owner attack the old employer's team?"
Is there something fishy about this matter, or is it like the story in a mainland costume drama, in which TSMC sent a powerful advance team to explore the situation before investing in Intel to reduce monopoly risks and geopolitical concerns? If this were not the case, TSMC should have filed a lawsuit based on the leakage of 2-nanometer data. To be honest, is it possible that the international business war at the level of TSMC is different from what most of us think? Therefore, subsequent developments deserve further observation.
