By Maggie Eastland, Bloomberg
A bipartisan group of six US senators pressed Intel Corp. for more information about its relationship with ACM Research Inc., a maker of semiconductor equipment whose subsidiaries remain on a Commerce Department blacklist, following a 2024 listing for national security reasons.
In a letter addressed to Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, the senators cited a Reuters report from December that the chipmaker had tested equipment from ACM used to create precise patterns in semiconductors. The lawmakers said that ACM units based in Shanghai and South Korea have previously done work with Chinese companies that the Pentagon has publicly connected to China’s military, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. and ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc.
Intel’s reported work with ACM also raises concerns following President Donald Trump’s decision last year for the US government to acquire a stake of up to 10% in the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker, the senators wrote. They urged Intel to act as a responsible steward of US taxpayer dollars and called on it to “avoid further collaboration with ACM or any companies attempting to undermine US export controls.”
Signers included Republicans Pete Ricketts, Jim Banks, and Tom Cotton, who heads the Intelligence Committee. The Democrats were Andy Kim, Elissa Slotkin, Elizabeth Warren, the party’s ranking member on the banking committee. Cotton, a key Trump ally, had raised concerns about Tan’s Chinese investments last year, just weeks before the government announced its investment plans.
“This raises important questions about Intel’s fiduciary responsibility and approach to safeguarding the public interest,” wrote the senators. “Intel’s entanglements with blacklisted Chinese companies calls into question whether taxpayer dollars are subsidizing activities that could directly threaten US national security and leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.”
An Intel spokesperson said the company doesn’t use ACM tools in its chipmaking process and that it takes its national security responsibilities seriously. Spokespeople for ACM didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times reported earlier on the letter.
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