 "(File) US President Donald Trump. Reuters")
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he and his cabinet had met Intel’s chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, just days after calling for the chipmaker’s boss to resign – a major U-turn in which he even hailed the tech giant’s leader as a “success”.
Intel shares rose two per cent in after-hours trading following news of the meeting.
“I met with Mr Lip-Bu Tan of Intel, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “His success and rise is an amazing story. Mr Tan and my cabinet will work together and bring me suggestions next week.”
Intel confirmed the talks, saying Tan and Trump had a “candid and constructive” discussion on strengthening US technology and manufacturing leadership.
Tan, who became Intel’s chief executive in March after serving on its board since 2022, has faced scrutiny from Senator Tom Cotton over alleged ties to China, including past links to Cadence Design, where he was chief executive. Only last week, Trump accused Tan of being “highly CONFLICTED” and demanded his resignation.
The shift in tone comes as Trump’s administration pursues an aggressive industrial policy in the semiconductor sector amid fierce competition with China. Over the weekend, Nvidia agreed to give the US government a 15 per cent share of certain sales to China in return for export control licences. Trump said he had initially sought 20 per cent before chief executive Jensen Huang negotiated it down.
Tan, 65, took charge at a challenging time for Intel, which has struggled to catch up in artificial intelligence against Nvidia while pouring resources into its chip foundry business. He has already announced job cuts, scaled back foundry plans in Europe and Ohio, and warned of a difficult road ahead.
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View AllBorn in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Tan later moved to the United States and earned a master’s degree from MIT. He has described his first months as chief executive as anything but easy.