Intel hires former SK hynix chief Seok-Hee Lee to lead Intel Foundry advanced packaging — company establishing section as 'focused business with dedicated leadership' - Tom's Hardware

Intel has appointed Seok-Hee Lee, former CEO of SK Hynix and SK On, as executive vice president of Intel Foundry, taking charge of advanced packaging, system integration, and backend technology develo... Read original →

Intel’s move to spin out advanced packaging as a standalone unit under Seok-Hee Lee isn’t just organizational—it’s a strategic strike at TSMC’s CoWoS dominance. With AI workloads demanding tighter logic-memory integration, EMIB-T and HBI could offer a cost-competitive alternative, especially as HBM4 adoption surges. This shift forces EDA, substrate, and test equipment vendors to realign roadmaps. While current U.S.-EU export controls haven’t targeted advanced packaging, escalating U.S.-China tech tensions could soon scrutinize co-packaged HBM-logic solutions. TSMC will likely double down on CoWoS capacity and anchor key clients like NVIDIA, while Samsung pushes I-Cube for mid-tier demand. Within 18 months, advanced packaging will evolve from a backend footnote to a foundry differentiator—with gross margins near 40% signaling a fundamental revaluation of back-end economics.