Core Viewpoint - TSMC has filed a lawsuit against its former Senior Vice President Wei-Jen Lo for allegedly stealing proprietary technology related to advanced semiconductor processes before joining Intel, violating non-compete agreements and multiple laws including the Trade Secrets Act [1] Group 1: Legal Actions - TSMC claims that Wei-Jen Lo, aged 75, took proprietary technology data before his departure, which constitutes a breach of contract and legal violations [1] - The lawsuit highlights concerns over intellectual property theft in the semiconductor industry, particularly between major players like TSMC and Intel [1] Group 2: Company Reactions - Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan has denied any allegations of wrongdoing regarding Wei-Jen Lo's actions [1] - The Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs has announced an investigation into Wei-Jen Lo's conduct following the allegations [1] Group 3: Market Impact - Following the news of the lawsuit, TSMC's stock price experienced a slight decline of 0.46%, trading at $283.33 in pre-market sessions [1]

Core Viewpoint - TSMC has filed a lawsuit against former senior vice president Luo Wei-ren for potential breaches of confidentiality and non-compete agreements following his departure to Intel shortly after retirement [1][2]. Group 1: Legal Actions and Allegations - TSMC initiated legal action based on employment contracts, non-compete agreements, and trade secret laws, claiming Luo may misuse or disclose confidential information to Intel [1][2]. - Luo joined TSMC in July 2004, became a senior vice president in February 2014, and was reassigned to the Corporate Strategy Development Department in March 2024, where he had no direct oversight of R&D [1]. - After retiring on July 27, 2025, Luo joined Intel as Executive Vice President (EVP) just three months later, raising concerns about potential information leaks [2]. Group 2: Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreements - During his tenure, Luo signed confidentiality and post-employment non-compete agreements, committing not to engage in competitive activities after leaving TSMC [2]. - TSMC's legal counsel reminded Luo of his non-compete obligations during his exit interview, where he indicated plans to work in academia but did not disclose his intention to join Intel [2]. Group 3: Investigations and Industry Impact - TSMC is actively gathering evidence regarding Luo's alleged misuse of his position to access sensitive information related to advanced process technologies before his departure [2]. - The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office has opened an investigation to determine if Luo's actions constitute any legal violations [2].

Group 1 - TSMC's third-quarter profit from its U.S. factory plummeted by 99% due to a power outage incident that occurred in mid-September, leading to the scrapping of thousands of wafers being produced for clients like Apple, Nvidia, and AMD [2][4] - The outage was caused by a power system failure from Linde Group, a UK industrial gas and engineering giant, which interrupted production for several hours [4] - Despite the setback, TSMC's Arizona plant turned from loss to profit in the first quarter of this year, indicating its ability to expand capacity and generate revenue even in a high-cost environment [4] Group 2 - TSMC acknowledged that while the Arizona plant has started generating positive revenue, its net profit is still affected by multiple factors, and long-term observation is needed to assess the situation [4] - The financial losses from the incident may be compensated through insurance, and the overall impact on the supply chain is expected to be limited due to the low capacity of Fab21 and prior completion of many chip products in Taiwan [4] - Historically, revenue and production gaps caused by similar incidents tend to be recovered in the following quarter [4]

Core Insights - The semiconductor industry is increasingly seeking alternative solutions due to the ongoing tight capacity for advanced packaging at TSMC, with Marvell and MediaTek evaluating the integration of Intel's EMIB technology into their ASIC chip designs [2][4]. Group 1: Industry Challenges - TSMC faces dual challenges: the inability to rapidly expand its advanced packaging capacity in the short term and the demand from U.S. clients for localizing the entire supply chain, which TSMC's U.S. backend capacity is not yet fully equipped to meet [4]. Group 2: Technological Developments - Intel's EMIB technology, which utilizes a 2.5D packaging architecture, is gaining attention for its unique advantages in heterogeneous chip integration [4]. - Recent job postings from leading companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and Broadcom explicitly mention EMIB-related positions, indicating a proactive approach to talent acquisition in the advanced packaging sector [4]. - Intel's newly launched 3.5D packaging technology achieves higher chip interconnect density through more precise silicon vias, further enhancing its competitive edge [4]. Group 3: Market Dynamics - The embedded bridge solution used in EMIB offers advantages in cost control and yield improvement compared to traditional intermediary layer designs, making it a key focus as advanced process evolution slows down [4]. - The shift of multiple companies towards the EMIB solution not only reflects current supply chain adaptation strategies but may also reshape the competitive landscape of the semiconductor packaging industry [4].

Taiwanese newspapers reported last week that Lo Wen-jen was alleged to have taken proprietary knowledge from TSMC just before his departure https://t.co/TQw1gH3hSe ...

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit in the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court against its former Senior Vice President Wei-Jen Lo, who recently joined ... ...

Core Viewpoint - Intel's stock price dropped by 1.23% to $35.35 in pre-market trading following a lawsuit filed by TSMC against former senior vice president Luo Wei-ren, who is accused of potentially leaking TSMC's trade secrets to Intel [1]. Group 1: Company Performance - Intel's closing price on November 24 was $35.79, reflecting an increase of 3.74% [1]. - The pre-market price on November 25 was $35.35, indicating a decrease of $0.44 [1]. - The stock reached a high of $36.155 and a low of $34.685 during the trading session [1]. - The trading volume was 104 million shares, with a total transaction value of $3.709 billion [1]. - Intel's market capitalization stands at $170.718 billion [1]. Group 2: Financial Metrics - The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is reported at 596.50, indicating a loss [1]. - The price-to-book (P/B) ratio is 1.604 [1]. - The stock has a 52-week high of $42.480 and a low of $17.665 [1].

Group 1 - The semiconductor industry index rose by 0.23% as of November 25, 2025, with notable increases in individual stocks such as ShenGong Co. (up 13.18%) and ChangChuan Technology (up 3.55%) [1] - The semiconductor industry ETF (159582) increased by 0.15%, with a latest price of 2.01 yuan, and has seen a cumulative rise of 11.85% over the past three months [1] - TSMC plans to build three additional 2nm fabs in Taiwan to meet the surging demand for AI chips, with an estimated total investment of 900 billion NTD [1] Group 2 - Tianfeng Securities highlights that edge AI chips are evolving towards "high energy efficiency architecture + scenario-based customization + global ecosystem," with advancements in in-memory computing and software toolchains [2] - The semiconductor industry ETF closely tracks the CSI Semiconductor Industry Index, which includes up to 40 companies involved in semiconductor materials, equipment, and applications [2] - As of October 31, 2025, the top ten weighted stocks in the CSI Semiconductor Industry Index accounted for 78.04% of the index, including companies like Zhongwei Company and North Huachuang [2]

Core Insights - The demand for AI HPC (High-Performance Computing) is driving the need for advanced packaging solutions, particularly TSMC's CoWoS technology, but some cloud service providers (CSPs) are considering Intel's EMIB technology due to increasing chip integration requirements and packaging area demands [1][2]. Group 1: Technology Comparison - TSMC's CoWoS solution connects different functional chips using an interposer, while Intel's EMIB simplifies the structure by embedding silicon bridges directly into the substrate, resulting in higher yield rates [3][7]. - EMIB technology has advantages over CoWoS in terms of thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) issues, as it has a lower silicon ratio and fewer contact areas, reducing the risk of warping and reliability challenges [3][7]. Group 2: Market Dynamics - The current market for advanced packaging is facing capacity shortages and high costs associated with CoWoS, leading companies like Google and Meta to explore Intel's EMIB solutions [2][8]. - Intel's EMIB technology is expected to support larger die sizes and provide cost-effective solutions by eliminating the expensive interposer layer, making it attractive for AI customers [7][8]. Group 3: Future Prospects - EMIB is projected to achieve significant advancements in mask size, with EMIB-M already providing 6x mask size and expected to reach up to 12x by 2027, while CoWoS technologies are limited to lower mask sizes [4][7]. - Intel's Foundry Services (IFS) has been developing EMIB technology since 2021, and with major clients like Google and Meta showing interest, this could lead to substantial growth for IFS [8].

Core Insights - The article discusses the increasing demand for AI HPC (High-Performance Computing) and the shift from TSMC's CoWoS solution to Intel's EMIB technology by cloud service providers (CSPs) due to capacity shortages and cost considerations [2][3][4]. Group 1: Technology Comparison - TSMC's CoWoS solution connects different functional chips using an interposer, while Intel's EMIB simplifies the structure by embedding silicon bridges directly into the substrate, leading to higher yield rates [4][6]. - EMIB technology has advantages such as a lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) issue, which reduces the risk of warping and reliability challenges compared to CoWoS [4][6]. - EMIB can achieve larger die sizes, with EMIB-M supporting up to 6 times the mask size, while CoWoS-L is expected to reach 9 times by 2027 [6]. Group 2: Market Dynamics - The demand for CoWoS is facing challenges such as capacity shortages and high costs, leading CSPs like Google and Meta to explore Intel's EMIB solutions [3][7]. - Intel's EMIB technology is being adopted in its server CPU platforms, and companies like Google and Meta are considering it for their products, indicating a potential shift in market dynamics [7][8]. - NVIDIA and AMD, which require high bandwidth and low latency, are likely to continue using CoWoS as their primary packaging solution [7].