High-ranking TSMC executive faces Taiwan legal investigation over murky return to Intel — report alleges employee took technical documents with him

A former TSMC executive, Wei-Jen Lo, is under investigation by Taiwanese authorities for potentially passing trade secrets to Intel after abruptly leaving TSMC and joining Intel in October. Allegations suggest Lo took confidential materials related to TSMC's cutting-edge process technologies with him. While Intel has not commented on the matter, reports indicate Lo may be overseeing new production equipment and process modules at Intel. Despite concerns about the transfer of TSMC's trade secrets, the value of the information to Intel's engineers may be limited due to differences in their respective technologies. Lo, a respected figure in advanced technology development, has a long history in the semiconductor industry, accumulating numerous patents during his tenure at TSMC.