Luo Weirenfu, former senior deputy general manager of technology R&D and corporate strategy development at TSMC, retired at the end of July this year, and it was subsequently reported that he would return to Intel to take charge of the R&D department. Recently, it has been reported in the industry that 75-year-old Luo Weiren took away a large amount of confidential information on the 2nm process before retiring. Although TSMC has not yet made a specific response, it has attracted widespread attention and reminds people of the turmoil that occurred when TSMC generals left in the past.
This incident first reminded the outside world of the "Liang Mengsong Incident".
Liang Mengsong, who was the senior R&D director of TSMC at the time, was unhappy with his promotion. After leaving TSMC, where he had served for 17 years, he successively taught at National Tsing University and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. After the non-compete period expired, he went to work at Samsung in South Korea. Liang Mengsong helped Samsung jump to 14 nanometers and get orders for Apple processors. TSMC also sued him for allegedly leaking business secrets to Samsung, and TSMC ultimately won the case.
But the difference between the cases of Liang Mengsong and Luo Weiren is that after the Liang Mengsong incident, TSMC’s division of labor became highly detailed, and it was difficult for one person or a team to take the secrets out.
In addition to Liang Mengsong and Luo Weiren, there was another general who also attracted attention when he left TSMC in the past, and that was Chiang Shangyi, the semiconductor boss and known as "Chiang's father." Chiang Shangyi retired from TSMC for the second time in 2013, and joined SMIC in 2016, which shocked the industry. At that time, there was even news that Zhang Zhongmou tried hard to persuade him but he still insisted on leaving TSMC.
After Jiang Shangyi resigned as an independent director of SMIC in 2019, he joined Wuhan Hongxin as CEO in June 2019. Soon after financial problems broke out in Wuhan Hongxin, Jiang Shangyi returned to serve as SMIC's vice chairman and executive director at the end of 2020, triggering the resignation of SMIC co-CEO Liang Mengsong. In less than a year, Jiang Shangyi resigned as vice chairman and executive director again in 2021. Looking back on the past, Jiang Shangyi admitted that joining SMIC was a mistake. He said, "People sometimes do stupid things in life, and joining SMIC was one of the stupid things he did."
When the media reported on Liang Mengsong and Chiang Shangyi at that time, they even called them "TSMC traitors." This incident of Luo Weiren also made the outside world pay attention to TSMC's trends. It is also reported that TSMC will sue the retired general.
Luo Weiren joined TSMC in 2004 as deputy general manager of the operating organization, and served as deputy general manager of R&D from 2006 to 2009, and was then promoted to deputy general manager of manufacturing technology for the advanced technology business and operating organization.
Before joining TSMC, he served as associate director of advanced technology development and director of CTM fab at Intel. Therefore, after his retirement in July this year, there were widespread rumors in the industry that Luo Weiren would return to his old employer Intel and take charge of the R&D department. According to the "Liberty Times" citing sources, Luo Weiren asked his subordinates for a briefing before leaving his job and photocopied a large number of advanced process technology materials such as 2 nanometer, A16, A14 nanometer and so on. TSMC is currently collecting evidence and may take action according to the situation in the future.
Regarding the issue of non-compete contracts, it is reported that TSMC usually requires senior executives who have resigned or retired to enter non-compete contracts, restricting them from joining competing companies within 18 months, and will be given half salary during this period. However, it is rumored that Luo Weiren did not sign, and even if he signed, it would not be successful. Overall, TSMC and Intel have not yet made a specific response to the news that confidential information was taken away.
Further reading: TSMC’s 21-year veteran leaves Intel to take charge of R&D! Luo Weiren is rumored to have taken away 2-nanometer advanced process secrets