Taiwan has launched an investigation into Wei-Jen Lo, a former TSMC executive accused of stealing secrets.

The former senior vice president for corporate strategy development is accused of stealing materials related to the company’s 2nm, A16, and A14 processes, which he may have handed over to his current employer, Intel.

Lo had retired from TSMC at the end of July, but reports soon emerged that the executive had instead moved to Intel. He was previously an executive at Intel before joining TSMC.

Reports say that Lo took more than 80 boxes of data and books on departure and asked his subordinates to brief him about the company’s advanced processes prior to retirement.

Taiwan’s Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin said that the government would determine whether Lo had violated the National Security Act, which penalizes individuals who divulge “core key technologies.”

The Act was first used in August when three of TSMC’s former employees were arrested following accusations that they had stolen proprietary technology from the chipmaker whilst working at Tokyo Electron, a Japanese chip toolmaker.

TSMC is currently the dominant chip manufacturer globally, and it is set to introduce mass production for its 2nm technology in the first half of 2026, with adoption expected in early 2027.

Intel has been struggling to keep up, but the appointment of CEO Lip-Bu Tan earlier this year, a 10 percent US government investment, a partnership with Nvidia, a new fab in Arizona, and a stronger than expected third quarter have ignited American hopes that the company could become competitive again.