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The contest to become Intel's new CEO is on — and two possible candidates' names have already leaked.
The American chipmaker is considering at least two people from outside the company to replace former CEO Pat Gelsinger, who abruptly retired on Sunday. Candidates include former board member Lip-Bu Tan and Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy, Bloomberg and Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
After a clash over Gelsinger's plan to gain ground against rival chipmaker Nvidia, Intel's board gave the CEO the option to retire or step down, Bloomberg reported. Gelsinger, who joined the role three years back, has been temporarily replaced by co-CEOs: David Zinsner, who has been Intel's chief financial officer for nearly three years, and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the new CEO of product.
His departure follows Intel's yearlong struggle to keep up with the global chip race. Intel has seen its share price drop almost 50% this year as it has faced multiple challenges, including billions in losses, sweeping layoffs, and buyouts.
Gelsinger's plans to revitalize the company included ambitions to build more factories in the US and Europe to scale its production capacity. He also wanted the company to design its own line of AI chips, named Gaudi, to take on Nvidia.
However, these efforts have proven expensive and have produced poor results. Last month, Gelsinger said the company was set to miss its target of $500 million in 2024 sales for Gaudi 3 due to software-related issues.
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The two CEO contenders reported so far have strong chipmaking backgrounds.
Semiconductor veteran Tan served on Intel's board between 2022 and this year, where he was on the mergers and acquisitions committee. He left the board in August, citing "demands on his time."
Tan is currently the chairman of Walden International, a venture capital firm. His prior board seats include SoftBank Group and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Murphy, meanwhile, does not have a public prior connection to Intel. He is the CEO of Marvell, an American semiconductor manufacturer that produces chips for data centers and service providers. He worked in sales and marketing for circuits producer Analog Devices for over two decades before joining Marvell and has served on the boards of eBay and the Global Semiconductor Alliance.
Marvell gained over 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after forecasting fourth-quarter revenue above estimates as it benefits from strong artificial intelligence chip demand. Its stock is up 59% this year.
"As the chairman and CEO of this company, I'm 100% focused on Marvell," Murphy, who has been in the position for eight years, said on Tuesday in an earnings call, when asked about being offered other opportunities.
Marvell has an $83 billion market capitalization and about 6,500 employees, as of 2024. Intel has a $97 billion market cap and about 131,000 employees, according to its website.
Representatives of Intel, Murphy, and Tan did not respond to requests sent outside business hours.
