Intel Says Gelsinger Retired, Media Reports Say Otherwise

A while ago, I predicted that Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger was probably on his way out after the colossal failure of the company's turnaround, of which Gelsinger was the chief architect. Gelsinger's plan was to return Intel to its former glory, but instead saw the company ceding space to its rivals and being relegated to a negligible spot in the ongoing artificial intelligence arms race.

So it was only natural that Intel oust the CEO that has been so central to its ongoing troubles, announcing only recently that Gelsinger will be "retiring" from the company after spending a combined 40 years or so with the chipmaker, including around four as its chief executive.

The writing was on the wall, but as to what went wrong under Gelsinger's tenure, the TL;DR is:

• Gelsinger ruined relations with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing which was ready to offer the company a 40% discount on manufacturing chips for Intel.
• Gelsinger kept doubling down on developing a semiconductor manufacturing footprint on American and European soil even though customers had no reason to shy away from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Gelsinger kept focusing on producing chips for desktop computers and servers, and had no product in place for when the AI boom hit

The list of fumbles go on, but ultimately culminated in Intel's stunningly bad quarterly results this past summer and announcements of sweeping measures (cost cuts, headcount reduction, etc.) to regain profitability.

While Intel's announcement was very corporate-like, praising Gelsinger for his years of service, the behind-the-scenes imagery was not so rosy.

Gelsinger was called into a board meeting at the start of December and given the choice of either stepping down or be fired; he chose the former, paving the way for Intel to appoint two senior leaders, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs until it could announce a permanent successor.

Gelsinger's departure was met positively by investors as Intel's stock rose following the announcement, but has been on a downward trajectory since.

So what now? Intel is going to be spending the next few quarters cleaning up its house. Most of Gelsinger's plans are likely to be scrapped, though the company's overall foundry ambitions remain intact. In fact, Intel's interim co-CEO David Zinsner has indicated that the next CEO of the company will have foundry experience.

Media reports so far have said that former board member Lip-Bu Tan and Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy were being considered as replacements for Gelsinger, but there's no guarantee that those two will be the only candidates.

Who gets to head Intel next is going to be announced at least a few months from now, and I'll keep you abreast with the development.

In Other News.. 📰

• FSOC's Still Worried About Stablecoins — via CoinDesk
• Elon Musk’s X gains a new image generator, Aurora — via TechCrunch
• What’s next for TikTok now that the app might get banned? — via CNN
• Intel should have focused on AI rather than chipmaking, TSMC founder says — via Reuters
• What Anthropic's AI knows about you — via Axios
• Ant Group gets new CEO as billionaire founder Jack Ma talks up AI in rare appearance — via CNBC

And that's a wrap! Don't forget to share this newsletter with your family and friends! See y'all next week. PEACE! ☮️

— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon

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