Intel Enters Foundry Race by Recruiting Former Samsung Executive

Intel has made a decisive move in the foundry competition by recruiting a former executive responsible for foundry sales at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics Vice President Seunghoon Han Recruited by Intel. Photo by LinkedIn

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On April 16 (local time), Intel announced that it has hired Seunghoon Han (Shaun Han), Vice President who led foundry sales at Samsung Electronics, as Senior Vice President (SVP) and General Manager of Intel Foundry Services, effective from next month.

Naga Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President overseeing Intel's foundry business, stated, "Vice President Han has developed semiconductor expertise at Samsung for 30 years and has recently led foundry sales. As we strengthen our process technology and advanced packaging capabilities, his leadership will play a crucial role."

According to LinkedIn, Vice President Han has been based in San Jose, USA, and was responsible for Samsung Foundry's sales operations in the United States. Industry sources believe he played a significant role in helping Samsung Foundry secure Tesla as a key client.

This is not the first time Intel has recruited external talent for its foundry business. Previously, the focus was mainly on acquiring process and operations experts, but this time, the company has directly brought in a core executive who oversaw sales at Samsung Electronics, the world's second-largest foundry company, marking a notable difference.

Although Intel Foundry has made large-scale investments since the relaunch of its business, its customer base remains weak. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has been reorganizing the foundry business, recently emphasized, "We remain focused on our long-term goal of building the world's best-in-class wafer and advanced packaging foundry," which is seen as part of the rationale behind this personnel move.

While Intel has been focusing on stabilizing its 18A (1.8-nanometer-class) process, the company now needs to ramp up its sales efforts to drive full-fledged growth. Notably, prior to this personnel announcement, Intel declared its participation in "Terafab" for Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, signaling a significant shift.

Meanwhile, Samsung does not appear to attach particular significance to this personnel change. On the previous day, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced the completion of next-generation AI chip design and expressed gratitude to Samsung, the manufacturing partner.

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