Under-fire Intel Corp. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan is due to meet his fiercest new critic, U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House today to discuss calls for his resignation over alleged “conflicts of interest” resulting from his ties to Chinese businesses.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s anonymous sources, the meeting is slated for Monday morning, where Tan (pictured) is expected to have a wide-ranging discussion with Trump that will focus on his personal and professional background. In addition, Tan is also expected to propose new ways that Intel and the U.S. government could work together.
Tan is seeking to win over Trump by showing his dedication to the U.S. and by pledging the importance of ensuring Intel’s manufacturing capabilities remain a top national security concern, the sources said.
The meeting comes just days after Trump sensationally called on Tan to resign his post at the company: “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late Thursday.
Trump’s call came just hours after the Republican senator Tom Cotton published a letter that he sent to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary, expressing concerns over Tan’s close ties to a number of Chinese companies. Tan is a Malaysian-born U.S. citizen, but he has come under suspicion due to ties involving a company called Cadence Design Systems Inc., where he served as CEO until 2021, and a venture capital firm with significant investments in Chinese startups.
Senator Cotton’s letter appears to be linked to a settlement between Cadence and the Justice Department, which saw the chip design software provider pay more than $140 million after pleading guilty to selling restricted products to a Chinese university, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
In addition, the letter also raised concerns about Tan’s investment portfolio. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Tan had bought stakes worth at least $200 million in Chinese manufacturing and chip companies between 2012 and 2024. The executive is a longtime startup investor who launched venture capital firm Walden International in 1987.
Tan took over the reins of Intel in March, replacing the ousted Pat Gelsinger, who quit the chipmaker last year. Investors initially cheered Tan’s arrival, given his extensive knowledge of the chipmaking industry and his previous performance in turning around Cadence.
However, Tan has reportedly already become embroiled in a clash with certain members of Intel’s board, including Yeary, regarding the chipmaker’s strategic direction, the Journal said Thursday.
Under Gelsinger, Intel unveiled plans to make significant investments in U.S. manufacturing, pledging to spend $100 billion over five years to boost domestic chipmaking capacity. As a result of those plans, the company became one of the biggest recipients of funding from former President Joe Biden’s much-vaunted Chips Act.
Tan has taken aim at Intel’s manufacturing operations, and has been searching for external customers for its foundry business in order to justify the massive expense of those investments. But so far, he has been unable to convince customers of the merits of Intel’s most advanced chip fabrication technologies, and the vast majority of Intel Foundry’s revenue still comes from manufacturing the company’s own chip products. Because of this, Tan has opted to slow the construction of Intel’s new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio to ensure it’s more aligned with customer demand. But that decision has frustrated some politicians, including the Republican Ohio senator Bernie Moreno.
In the wake of Trump’s call for Tan to resign, the Intel CEO penned a letter to employees, noting that the U.S. has been his home for more than 40 years. He said the company is engaging with the White House to ensure that Trump and his team have “the facts.”
“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 said. “My reputation has been built on trust – on doing what I say I’ll do, and doing it the right way.”
Photo: Intel
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