Arm co-founder steps down from board of China’s largest chipmaker
A former president of British tech giant Arm has given up his role on the board of China’s largest chipmaker today, as semiconductor supply scales government agendas from East to West.
In a LinkedIn post today, Arm co-founder Tudor Brown wrote: “A bittersweet day today. After nine years I resigned from SMIC board. Sad to leave, but opportunities to do other things!”
The resignation comes as tensions over computer chip supply and manufacturing ownership between the West and China rise.
The UK government has raised concerns over a takeover of the country’s largest chip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab by Chinese-owned Nexperia under the new National Security and Investments Act, ratified in January.
While the US, under its recently passed semiconductor bill, is looking to incentivise domestic chipmakers not to expand their production any further in China with $52bn worth of subsidies, in the latest jab after years of sabre rattling between the East and West.
Government’s are increasingly wary over where their semiconductor supply is based, as they grow evermore critical to most of today’s electronics and are currently in short supply.
Brown, who has sat on Lenovo’s board for nearly 10 years and has closely watched the explosion in demand for semiconductors over the decade, had worked at Arm for 22 years prior to his exit.
It is unclear what opportunities Brown mentioned in the post. However, he holds seats on a number of other tech boards, including CeresPower, Garrison and Marvell Semiconductor.