Bitmain suspected of illegally hiring Taiwanese Chip developers

Taiwan authorities suspect the Chinese mining company Bitmain of illegally hiring more than 100 engineers to develop its artificial intelligence business. This is written by the Nikkei newspaper.

According to him, the Xinbei prosecutor's Office on Tuesday examined seven addresses and summoned about 20 people for questioning. The two chip companies seized employee lists with contact information, payrolls, laptops and smartphones.

According to the Nikkei, Chinese companies have long been interested in specialists in the field of chip development from Taiwan to develop technologies on the mainland. Taiwan is the world's second-largest chip maker by revenue after the United States.

Prosecutors allege that Bitmain initially recruited a leading engineer to work for a new company in China as chairman, after which it asked him to invite colleagues. Subsequently, Bitman illegally organized two companies under the guise of foreign investment in Taiwan in order to attract additional specialists, the prosecution claims.

It is assumed that in this way Bitman managed to hire at least 100 chip developers, "but there may be more of them", as the investigation continues, and the interrogations have only just begun. At the same time, the prosecutor's office noted that so far they have not been able to find evidence of the disclosure of trade secrets.

By 2030, Beijing aims to become a world leader in artificial intelligence. Like many other companies, Bitmain uses the services of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce chips.

According to the current agreement between China and Taiwan, Chinese investors are prohibited from investing in the Taiwanese chip manufacturing sector, as it is of primary importance for national security. Chinese chip manufacturers are also prohibited from opening units in Taiwan. Violations are punishable by one year in prison or a fine of more than $5,000. Lawyers claim that the management of Bitmain may also face charges of fraud, because they organized a business in Taiwan, without revealing its origin.