Photographer: Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg
An investigation into illegal talent poaching by Beijing Bitmain Technologies Ltd. has rekindled fears that Chinese companies will turn to Taiwan’s best engineers as their country works to build a world-class chip manufacturing industry.
According to Chang Jui-chuan, a New Taipei prosecutor spokeswoman, investigators came to the offices of Bitmain’s two Taiwanese units and interviewed 19 people on Tuesday in an investigation into whether the crypto mining start-up had local laws. violate. The Chinese company, which develops semiconductors for mining and other purposes, is suspected of illegally recruiting hundreds of engineers from Taiwanese companies over three years. Taiwan prohibits companies from China from doing business or recruiting locally without prior authorization, a measure designed to limit the influence of its political rival.
The allegations against Bitmain ensure that Chinese companies will accelerate their efforts to hire Taiwan’s best engineers in an effort to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency. Beijing has pledged to develop its own advanced chip manufacturing to dominate future technologies and reduce its reliance on $ 300 billion in annual semiconductor imports.
Read more: China is putting more money into chips, AI and 5G to catch the US
Taiwan’s deep pool of expertise turns around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s leading chip manufacturer and supplier to most of Apple Inc.’s US technology giants. to Nvidia Corp. American and European companies such as Google and ASML Holding NV has founded technical hubs and research bases to tap into local talent.
“China’s poaching of Taiwanese engineers is undermining Taiwan’s semiconductor industry,” said Carol Lin, professor of law at Hsinchu-based National Chiao Tung University, which is now part of the newly formed National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. “This maneuver will allow Chinese competitors to learn more about the progress of Taiwanese companies. If these engineers involve trade secrets, Chinese rivals can get a good sense of the past success and failure of Taiwanese companies in technological development, and this could result in unfair competition and even jeopardize national security. “
Beijing has denied that of Washington claims it requires technology or talent transfer or targets the intellectual property of foreign companies. Bitmain representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Read more: The world is dangerously dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors
Bitmain’s actions are suspected of violating Taiwan’s law on relations between the people of the Taiwan region and the mainland, Chang said. An article in the law states that for-profit Chinese companies cannot set up units in Taiwan and conduct business activities – including headhunting – without the approval of Taiwanese authorities, she added.
A separate press statement from Chang’s office, although Bitmain is not named, sheds light on the allegations. To develop artificial intelligence chips, the Chinese startup created a new entity in China with a Taiwanese engineer as chairman. This engineer then recruited colleagues from his former company in Taiwan and formed a headhunting team to set up a research and development center in Taiwan, the statement said. Chang confirmed that the company was Bitmain in the press release.
The team offered potential recruits double their existing salaries and openly advertised on Taiwanese job boards, prosecutors said. The best chip designer in the country MediaTek Inc., a great rival to Qualcomm Inc. was influenced by Bitmain’s hiring drive, Taiwan’s Apple Daily reported. A MediaTek representative declined to comment.
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Taiwanese executives have been accusing Chinese rivals of aggressive poaching for years. In 2018 Taiwanese DRAM maker Nanya Technology Corp. President Lee Pei-ing said some of his engineers were offered three to five times their current salary by Chinese competitors. The typical practice was to first lure a manager away who would then recruit more of his former colleagues, Lee said.
In addition to talent poaching, international companies with operations in Taiwan and local officials have accused Chinese companies of technology theft. In 2019, Taiwanese prosecutors five people charged with leaking technology from a German chemical maker BASF SE to Jiangyin Jianghua Microelectronics Materials Co., while Micron Technology Inc. has sued Taiwan United Microelectronics Corp. and its Chinese partner Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. for stealing business secrets. Both Chinese companies have denied wrongdoing.
Read more: Engineers found guilty of stealing micron secrets from China
Bitmain, the world’s largest maker of crypto mining equipment, has tried to expand into AI chipmaking over the years to cushion Bitcoin’s volatility, but the strategy divided management. The company relies on TSMC’s foundry for semiconductor manufacturing.
– With the help of Zheping Huang
Updates with employment forecast chart