One of the challenges that Chinese companies have with developing their own chipmaking gear is the lack of experienced professionals in fields as high-end lithography and optics. As Chinese companies, such as Huawei, want the best, they are aggressively recruiting people from ASML and Zeiss SMT, offering plenty of money in exchange for their world-class knowledge and experience, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Huawei approached employees at Germany's Zeiss SMT, which produces optics for ASML's lithography tools, offering up to triple their salaries. This has raised serious concerns in the U.S., Europe, and Asia over intellectual property theft and national security risks, triggering investigations and regulatory actions. German intelligence began investigating after Zeiss employees flagged these efforts, fearing that sensitive technological knowledge could be compromised. Huawei was also found targeting other German firms like Trumpf, which develops laser amplifiers for chip production.
