Photographer: Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg
An investigation into illegal talent poaching in Beijing Bitmain Technologies Ltd. has revived fears of Chinese companies targeting Taiwan’s top engineers as their country works to build a global chip manufacturing industry.
Investigators went down to the offices of Bitmain’s two Taiwanese units and interviewed 19 people on Tuesday in an investigation to find out if the crypto-mining startup violated local laws, according to Chang Jui-chuan, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor’s Office. New Taipei District. The Chinese company, which develops semiconductors for mining and other purposes, is suspected of illegally recruiting hundreds of engineers from Taiwanese companies over a three-year period. Taiwan bans Chinese companies from doing business or recruiting locally without prior approval, a measure aimed at limiting the influence of its political rival.
The allegations against Bitmain raise concerns that Chinese companies will step up efforts to hire the best engineers in Taiwan in an attempt to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency. Beijing has is committed to developing its own advanced chip production to dominate future technologies and reduce dependence on annual semiconductor imports of $ 300 billion.
Read more: China will pour more money into chips, AI and 5G to catch us
Taiwan’s deep range of expertise revolves around it Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chip maker and supplier to most US technology giants, of Apple Inc. the Nvidia Corp. Google and Alphabet Inc. ASML Holding NV was established engineering hubs and research bases to reach local talent.
“Taiwanese poaching in China undermines Taiwan’s semiconductor industry,” he said. Carol Lin, a law professor at Chiao Tung National University in Hsinchu, is now part of the newly established Yang Ming Chiao Tung National University. “Through the maneuver, Chinese competitors can learn about the progress of Taiwanese companies. If these engineers bring trade secrets with them, Chinese rivals can successfully know the past success and failure of Taiwanese companies in technological developments, and this could lead to unfair competition and even endanger national security.
Beijing has denied that of Washington claims that it requires technology or talent transfers or targets the intellectual property of overseas companies. Bitmain representatives did not respond to several 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 people in Taiwan 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 – including headhunting – without the approval of the Taiwanese authorities, she added.
A separate press release from Chang’s office, although he did not identify Bitmain by name, revealed the allegations. To develop artificial intelligence chips, the Chinese startup created a new entity in China, with a Taiwanese engineer as president. The engineer then recruited colleagues from his former Taiwanese company and formed a hunting team to set up a research and development center in Taiwan, according to the statement. Chang confirmed that the company in the press release was Bitmain.
The team offered potential recruits a doubling of existing salaries and made public advertising on job sites in Taiwan, prosecutors said. The country’s leading chip designer MediaTek Inc., a major rival for Qualcomm Inc. has been affected by the recruitment of Bitmain, Apple Daily reported in Taiwan. A MediaTek representative declined to comment.
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Taiwanese executives have accused Chinese rivals of aggressive poaching for years. In 2018, the Taiwanese manufacturer of DRAM Nanya Technology Corp. President Lee Pei-ing said that some of its engineers have been offered three to five times their current salaries by Chinese competitors. The typical practice was to first attract a manager who would then recruit more former colleagues, according to Lee.
Beyond talent poaching, global firms with operations in Taiwan and local officials have accused Chinese companies of technology theft. In 2019, Taiwanese prosecutors accused five people of leaking technology belonging to the German chemical manufacturer BASF SE la Jiangyin Jianghua Microelectronics Materials Co., while Micron Technology Inc. It has sued Taiwan United Microelectronics Corp. and his Chinese partner Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. for stealing trade secrets. Both Chinese companies denied the wrong actions.
Read more: Engineers have been found guilty of stealing micron secrets for China
Bitmain, the world’s largest cryptocurrency maker, has tried over the years to expand its production of AI chips to cushion Bitcoin volatility, but the strategy has split its management. The company relies on the TSMC foundry for semiconductor production.
– With the assistance of Zheping Huang
(Updates with the employment forecast chart)