Intel CEO’s China Investments Raise Concerns Over Military Ties

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has invested in hundreds of Chinese tech companies, including at least eight with links to the People’s Liberation Army, according to a review of Chinese and U.S. corporate filings.

Tan, appointed last month to lead the U.S.’s largest chipmaker, controls more than 40 Chinese companies and funds, and holds minority stakes in over 600 others through investment firms he manages or owns.

Some of these investments are shared with Chinese government entities, raising concerns among investors about potential conflicts of interest and national security implications.

Intel, which manufactures advanced chips for the U.S. Department of Defense, has a USD 3 billion contract with the agency and is involved in two other defence-related chip development programmes.

Tan made his investments through Walden International, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm he founded in 1987, and two Hong Kong-based holding companies, Sakarya Limited and Seine Limited.

As of Oct. 31, Tan was the sole owner of Sakarya and controls Seine through Walden, according to Chinese corporate filings. He remains chairman of Walden International.

Intel said Tan completed a disclosure questionnaire for directors and officers, and that any potential conflicts are handled in accordance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

A source familiar with the matter said Tan had divested from his positions in Chinese entities, but Reuters found many of his investments still listed as current in Chinese databases.

It is not illegal for U.S. citizens to invest in Chinese companies, even those with military ties, unless the companies are on the U.S. Treasury’s Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List.

Reuters found no evidence that Tan currently holds direct investments in any company on that list.

Between March 2012 and Dec. 2024, Tan invested at least USD 200 million in Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, including contractors and suppliers for the PLA.

Walden is currently a joint owner in 20 investment funds and companies with Chinese government funds or state-owned enterprises, mostly from tech hubs such as Hangzhou, Hefei, and Wuxi.

Walden has also invested in six Chinese tech firms alongside China Electronics Corporation, a major PLA supplier sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020.

A February 2024 report by the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found Walden made at least six other investments totalling USD 161 million in firms with military links between 2001 and 2022.

Tan was an early investor in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest chip foundry, which is under U.S. sanctions. He served on SMIC’s board until 2018, and Walden exited the company in Jan. 2021.

The most recent divestment Reuters could confirm was in Jan. 2024, when a Walden fund exited Ningbo Lub All-Semi Micro Electronics Equipment Company, a chip supplier for Chinese defence firms.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan invested in hundreds of Chinese tech firms, including some with PLA ties
Tan controls or holds stakes in over 600 Chinese companies through Walden International and other entities
Intel has a USD 3 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Defense

Source: REUTERS