Intel (INTC) CEO Lip-Bu Tan responded to President Trump’s public call for his resignation late Thursday, calling reports about his career “misinformation.” In a letter to staff, he said the company was engaging with the Trump administration.
“There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about my past roles … 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 wrote.
Early Thursday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately.”
“There is no other solution to this problem,” he continued. “Thank you for your attention to this problem!”
Tan was named Intel’s CEO back in March, taking over from Pat Gelsinger’s tumultuous tenure that saw the company’s stock plummet and the chipmaker fall behind in the AI race. Investors cheered Tan’s appointment, with the stock rising as much as 15% after the news, and Wall Street analysts, as well as current and former executives and employees, saw Tan as the best possibility to succeed in turning around the troubled company.
Intel stock rose Friday after losing over 3% Thursday in the aftermath of Trump’s post.
Intel issued a statement following Trump’s comments, emphasizing its commitment to “advancing US national and economic security interests” and to making investments “aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” including domestic semiconductor manufacturing. “We look forward to our continued engagement with the Administration,” the statement concludes.
In April, a Reuters report detailed Tan’s wide-ranging investments in Chinese companies made through his VC firm, Walden International. The outlet found that the firm “remains invested in 20 funds and companies alongside Chinese government funds or state-owned enterprises, according to Chinese corporate databases.”
Tan has served on boards and in various executive roles at 14 firms in the semiconductor space, most notably including his tenure as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a chip design software company.
Trump’s post came a day after one of his top Senate allies, Republican Tom Cotton, wrote a letter to Intel’s board chair questioning Tan’s China ties.
“Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations,” Cotton wrote, pointing to Intel’s nearly $8 billion grant from the CHIPS Act. “Mr. Tan’s associations raise questions about Intel’s ability to fulfill these obligations.”
“Lip-Bu is a legend in the semi industry, and his ties to many companies, both in and out of China, are well known,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon wrote in a note to investors Thursday following Trump’s Truth Social post.
“We don’t believe Lip-Bu is ‘conflicted,’ though given the nature of this administration [Lip-Bu Tan’s] China ties … are seemingly creating an increasingly bad look,” Rasgon added. “And unfortunately, unlike other tech CEOs Lip-Bu does not appear to have cultivated the kind of personal relationship with Trump that would help to assuage his ire.”
Intel shares are up just 1.8% for the year, lagging other chip stocks such as AMD (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), and market leader Nvidia (NVDA).
In late July, Intel stock sank after the company reported that it would cut its workforce by 15% in an attempt to pare costs as it struggles to revive its ailing chip manufacturing business.
Intel both designs and manufactures chips for itself and has, in recent years, tried to produce chips for third-party customers to boost its manufacturing business. So far, efforts have fallen short.
The company said in its latest earnings report that it’s scrapping an attempt to make its latest manufacturing process technology, called 18A, available to its customers, something analysts had been calling crucial to its turnaround efforts and ability to catch up to rival chip manufacturer TSMC (TSM).
Adding to the turmoil, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that the CEO was at odds with several members of Intel’s board and had butted heads with chairman Frank Yeary over whether the company should scrap its manufacturing business.
Tan said in his letter to staff, “The Board is fully supportive of the work we are doing to transform our company, innovate for our customers, and execute with discipline — and we are making progress.”
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Email her at laura.bratton@yahooinc.com.
Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
