Intel Chief Engineer Departs After Product Delay

By Asa Fitch 

Intel Corp. said its chief engineering officer was leaving the company days after the semiconductor maker surprised investors by disclosing delays on its newest processor design.

The executive, Venkata "Murthy" Renduchintala, had played a leading role in the company's bid to scale down the size of its transistors and compete with the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. Intel said Mr. Renduchintala, who joined the company in 2015 from Qualcomm Inc., would leave Aug. 3.

Intel has stumbled with development of some of its newest processors. Two years ago, it encountered delays in bringing its 10-nanometer technology to market. On Thursday, Intel shares plummeted after it said that its move to 7-nanometer chips was delayed by a year from its initial schedule. Chips that use smaller transistors can run more efficiently and use up less physical space.

Mr. Renduchintala couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The move follows the departure in June of another high-ranking Intel engineer, Jim Keller, who left citing unspecified personal reasons. Mr. Keller is a star chip architect -- a designer of the structure of chips that plays a major role in how well they perform. Prior to his two-year stint at Intel, he had worked at Apple Inc., Tesla Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Write to Asa Fitch at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2020 18:08 ET (22:08 GMT)

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