Why the President Wants Intel’s CEO to Resign

Also, should coders fear AI, and why Google Maps isn’t as good in South Korea. 

Starring Tom Merritt, and Huyen Tue Dao.

TOM: This is the Daily Tech News for August 8, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories, and help each other understand.

HUYEN: Today, we explain why the President of the United States is calling for Intel’s CEO to resign.

I’m Tom Merritt,

I’m Huyen Tue Dao

TOM: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.

BIG STORY
Intel CEO responds after Trump calls for his resignation | AP News
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan responds to Trump comments that he should resign
Office of Public Affairs | Cadence Design Systems Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay Over $140 Million for Unlawfully Exporting Semiconductor Design Tools to a Restricted PRC Military University | United States Department of Justice
Exclusive | Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Under Attack From Trump, Is Already at Odds With His Board - WSJ
What to Know About Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and His Business Dealings in China - Bloomberg

TOM: After the president of the United States called for his resignation Thursday, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told employees, "There has been a lot of misinformation circulating about my past roles. I wanted to be absolutely clear... I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards." He also said, “We are engaging with the Administration to address the matters that have been raised and ensure they have the facts."

As we mentioned yesterday, earlier in the week, US Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel's board expressing concern about Tan and asking whether he had divested himself of previous investments in China.

The concerns come from two areas: Let’s dig in.

In the 1980s Tan helped found Walden International, which invested in more than 600 companies, including 100 Chinese semiconductor companies, including SMIC for which he served as a board member until 2018, two years before SMIC was added to the US entity list restricting exports to it. Tan agreed to divest his Walden holdings when he took over as Intel CEO, but he is still chairman of its board. In 2023, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent Walden a letter expressing concerns about investments in China. But Walden has scaled back its Chinese investments.

That brings us to the second concern. Tan joined the board of chip-design company Cadence Designs in 2004 and was CEO of the company from 2008 until 2021. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 2023. That overlapped with his joining Intel's board in 2022. He became CEO of Intel on March 12th this year.

That's notable because on July 28th, Cadence pleaded guilty to violating US export controls by selling Semiconductor Design Tools to an entity called CSCC, which was an alias for China's National University of Defense Technology or NUDT from 2015 until April 2021, while Tan was CEO. That university was added to the US entity list in February 2015 due to "due to its use of U.S.-origin components to produce supercomputers believed to support nuclear explosive simulation and military simulation activities." However, the US Department of Justice statement on the guilty plea says that "According to Cadence’s admissions and court documents, employees of Cadence China did not disclose to and/or concealed from other Cadence personnel, including Cadence’s export compliance personnel, that exports to CSCC were in fact intended for delivery to NUDT and/or the PRC military."

Intel has also delayed plans to build new facilities in Ohio, leading to Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno to also call for Tan to resign.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story Friday about tensions between Tan and the Intel board of directors. The board has publicly supported Tan in the face of the allegations.

So could the real thing that angers the president be that Intel is dragging its heels on building new plants while other tech companies are promising to increase investments? And is Intel’s board helping to knife him in the back?

No?

Intel board chairman Frank Yeary drew up plans earlier this year for Intel to exit the foundry business, which makes chips, and spin it out as a separate business unit with stakes sold to Nvidia and Amazon. Tan has argued that the foundry business was essential to not only Intel but also the security of Intel's supply chains.

The Journal says Yeary was among the board members who pushed back investments in US foundries until 2026. The Journal also says Intel wanted to buy an AI company to put it closer to NVIDIA and AMD in that sector, but the board has delayed that as well.

Tan has had recent meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, which indicate the government would support Intel if it landed bigger customers like Apple.

We have one last suspect.

The Journal also notes that Intel's previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, had a friendly relationship with US Vice President J.D. Vance. Tan had resigned from the Intel board in August 2024 in a dispute over how Gelsinger was running the business.

DISCUSS

HUYEN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to
John Atwood
Pat
Mike Cortez

BREAK

PAUSE

TOM: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.

BRIEFS
Here's when ChatGPT integration within Apple Intelligence will use GPT-5 - 9to5Mac

HUYEN: 9to5 Mac reports that Apple told it that ChatGPT integration within Apple Intelligence will use GPT-5 with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26. Those are supposed to arrive for all users next month. No details on when they might show up in the betas of those operating systems.

Openvibe combines news and social media in one app | TechCrunch

TOM: OpenVibe is an app on Android and iOS that lets you follow and post to multiple social networks at once, including Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and Nostr. Starting now, you can also add RSS feeds so that your favorite feeds show up in the combined timeline next to posts from those other platforms, in a dedicated RSS feed, or in a custom feed. You can add them one by one or import an OPML file from another news reader.

Google Finance redesign goes all in on AI, complete with a chatbot
The Google Finance page is getting an AI makeover | The Verge

HUYEN: The Google Finance web app is getting a redesign that includes a chatbot that can answer finance questions. There are also chart redesigns, a live news feed, and the addition of broader market data, including cryptocurrencies. If you don’t like the new design, a toggle will be available to revert it back.

Google is fixing a bug that causes Gemini to keep calling itself a 'failure'

TOM: Multiple users of Gemini have reported the chatbot giving responses that would be given by someone with low self-esteem, like "...I am a fool. I have made so many mistakes that I can no longer be trusted." Google's product lead for AI Studio, Logan Kilpatrick, called it an "annoying infinite looping bug" and that the company is fixing it.

Pixel Watch 4 'with Gemini' has dual GPS, Quick Charge Dock

HUYEN: Evan Blass has done it again. He has obtained marketing material that looks like what Google has prepared for the upcoming Pixel Watch 4 with Gemini. The tagline is “Precision crafted. Performance ready.” The new charger is officially called the “Quick Charge Dock” and is 25% faster than before.

Leading phone repair and insurance firm collapses after paying crippling ransomware demand — Cutting 100+ employees to just eight wasn’t enough | Tom's Hardware

TOM: Thanks to Motang for tipping us off to this one in our subreddit. Germany’s Einhaus Group was targeted by a ransomware group in March 2023, and paid a fee of about $230,000 to the group. However, the interruption to its service was so bad that the company went from 100+ employees to 8 and has now entered insolvency proceedings, the last step before liquidation.

What Happens When You Fold and Unfold the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 200,000 Times? - CNET

HUYEN: YouTube channel Tech-It decided to literally test Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 folding and unfolding it 200,000 times. Samsung says it should survive up to 500,000. The days-long livestream showed the phone rebooting every 6-10,000 folds and at 46,000 it started to creak. At 75,000 a black liquid leaked from the hinge. And at 175,000, the speakers stopped working. However after 200,000 the folding mechanism was smooth and it could still hold its position at any angle.

Trump signs order allowing alternative assets like cryptocurrencies, private equity in 401(k)s
China Tells Brokers to Stop Touting Stablecoins to Cool Frenzy - Bloomberg

TOM: A couple of interesting Cryptocurrency stories. The US President directed the US Secretary of Labor to review guidance on what can be included in 401ks retirement plans, to pave the way for a wider selection of assets, including cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile Chinese policymakers are telling local brokers in the mainland and Hong Kong to stop publishing research or holding seminars about stablecoins. Regulators are concerned about their use in fraud.

Proposed spacecraft could carry up to 2,400 people on a one-way trip to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri | Live Science

HUYEN: Project Chrysalis won first place in the Project Hyperion Design Competition, where teams design hypothetical multigenerational ships for interstellar travel. Chrysalis would contain 2,400 people and their descendants on a 400-year trip to land on the planet Proxima Centauri b. People planning to join the journey must live for 70-80 years in Antarctica, meaning you won’t go, but your children will. The 36-mile-long ship includes layers with communal spaces, farms, gardens, homes, warehouses and other shared facilities, each powered by nuclear fusion reactors.

South Korea delays decision on Google's request for map data exports, ministry says

TOM: And a last note, South Korea delayed a decision Friday on Google’s request to export map data. It seems to be held as a bargaining chip in the country’s negotiations with the US over tariffs.

PROMO

TOM: Need a snazzy gift for a co-worker or colleague? We got dozens of ideas at dailytechnewsshow.com/store! Pick up a mug, t-shirt or mouse pad with our new DTNS Logo! They're great gifts and great way to support the show!

BREAK

PAUSE

HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND

HUYEN: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Larry has some thoughts on AI and coding.

TOM:
Hi Tom,
…
One thing I’ve noticed is that some of the coders on the show often sound a bit… resistant when it comes to discussions about AI and coding….

I say this with a lot of empathy, because it reminds me of something I experienced firsthand. Years ago, I was a trader at the Chicago Board of Trade and the Mercantile Exchange right when electronic trading was starting to take over. The floor traders (myself included) were all adamant that electronic trading would never work. It couldn’t possibly do what we did. Fast forward to now—there are almost no physical trading floors left. Everything’s digital. The people who adapted and learned how to trade electronically kept going, while others got left behind.

I think we’re seeing a similar shift now with AI and coding. The coders who evolve—who learn to prompt well and use AI as a tool—are going to have a big advantage. And I imagine that’s what’s making some people nervous. It’s not that they don’t see the potential—it’s that they do.

Anyway, just wanted to share that perspective. I still love the show. Everyone you have on is super knowledgeable, and it’s fun to listen to such high-level discussions from people who really know their stuff. I just couldn’t help but notice the parallel with my past.

Thanks for everything you do,
Larry

DISCUSS

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TOM: Thanks to Larry for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business by becoming a patron, atPatreon.com/dtns