The executive order spotlighted a business deal that attracted little attention at the time announced in May 2024 during President Joe Biden’s administration. The deal saw aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp. sold its computer chip and wafer manufacturing business to HieFo for $2.92 million – a price that included the assumption of approximately $1 million in liabilities.
But Trump does demanding now that HieFo will divest that technology within 180 days, citing “credible evidence” that the current owner is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.HieFo was founded by Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. According to one press release that came out after the deal closed, plans for the technology acquired from Emcore would be overseen by largely the same team of employees in Alhambra, California.
Zhang, who was vice president of engineering at Emcore before becoming CEO of HieFo, vowed to “continue pursuing the most innovative and disruptive solutions” with technology designed for purposes that include artificial intelligence.
HieFo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s order.
Emcore was a listed company at the time of the HieFo deal, but was taken private last year by investment company Charlesbank Capital Partner.
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