Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has written to Intel seeking information about the company’s new CEO, raising questions about CEO Tan Lip-Bu’s investments in Chinese firms with links to the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party.
The tech giant has recently received billions in federal funding, including from a U.S. national security program.
The Aug. 5 letter from Cotton, who chairs the Senate’s intelligence committee, was addressed to the chairman of Intel’s board, Frank D. Yeary.
It sounded the alarm over Tan’s past tenure as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a firm that specializes in hardware and software for advanced microchips and other semiconductor products.
On July 28, Cadence pleaded guilty to violating export controls on electronic design technology tools that originated in the United States.
Between 2015 through 2020, the company conspired to sell hardware and software to China’s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) after that institution was placed on the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List. Violations were facilitated through Cadence’s wholly controlled, Shanghai-based subsidiary.
A Department of Justice press release on Cadence’s plea agreement notes that NUDT, which was referred to under an alias in some emails, is a “restricted PRC military university involved in the development of supercomputers with applications for military and nuclear explosive simulations.”
Cadence is now slated to pay more than $140 million in aggregate penalties and forfeiture.
Tan, who was appointed CEO of Intel in March of this year, served as CEO of Cadence from 2009 through 2021, a period that overlaps with the company’s admitted violations of export controls.
Cotton noted that Intel recently received $8 billion of direct funding through the CHIPS and Science Act. The money, which came on top of a 25 percent tax credit and a $3 billion contract for semiconductor manufacturing under the Secure Enclave program, was given to Intel to support semiconductor production and related activities in Oregon, Ohio, New Mexico, and Arizona.
“U.S. companies who receive government grants should be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and adhere to strict security regulations. The board of Intel owes Congress an explanation,” Cotton wrote in an X post that featured the letter.
In an email to The Epoch Times, an Intel spokesperson wrote that “Intel and Mr. Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the United States and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem.”
“We appreciate Senator Cotton’s focus on these shared priorities. We look forward to addressing these matters with the Senator,” the spokesperson added.
In a March press release on Tan’s appointment as CEO, Yeary lauded the businessman as “an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO.”
Reuters reported on the scale of Tan’s China investments in April, which included hundreds of companies.
In his letter, Cotton asks if the board “was aware of Cadence’s subpoenas before hiring Mr. Tan as CEO?”
“If so, what measures were taken to address concerns about Cadence’s activities under Mr. Tan?” the letter continues.
Cotton also asked if Intel has required Tan to divest from firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military prior to his appointment as CEO.
“Has Mr. Tan disclosed any remaining investments, professional roles, or other ties to Chinese companies to the U.S. government?” Cotton asked.
It also drew attention to the company’s Secure Enclave award, which was executed by the Department of Defense.
A 2024 announcement from the department states that the Intel funding will “ensure access to a domestic supply chain of advanced semiconductors for national security.”
The Department of Defense had no comment.
Tan, 65, who is ethnically Chinese, was born in Johor, Malaysia, and raised in Singapore before moving to the United States, where he obtained a Master’s in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA at the University of San Francisco.
Tan has worked at several tech companies, including at SMIC—the China-based competitor to Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC.
Cadence Design CEO Lip-Bu Tan delivers the keynote address during the CDN Live conference in Bangalore, India, on Nov. 19, 2009. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images)
The Democratic leadership on the Senate’s intelligence committee did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Republican and Democratic leadership on the House’s intelligence committee also did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
