Micron Technology, a US computer chip maker, plans to close down its DRAM design team in Shanghai by late 2022, reports Caixin. The decision has been made after several of Micron’s Shanghai engineering team members were poached by domestic competitors, and will serve as a precautionary measure to prevent technology leaks to competitors.
Micron is not the first US chip company to scale back its research and development teams in China. US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices has also said it plans to downsize its Shanghai research center, prompting some employees to leave the company.
The exodus is being accelerated by a wave of investment in the domestic chip industry under Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” plan, which aims to upgrade China’s manufacturing to be more globally competitive, especially in high value-added sectors like microchips. Many US companies haven’t signed noncompete agreements with Chinese employees, making it easy for Chinese competitors to poach talent, industry participants said.
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