Intel and AMD Face Accusations: Failed to Block Chips from Powering Russian Missile Systems
Silicon Valley's giants are under fire as their most advanced processors reportedly find a deadly new home.
The Supply Chain Black Hole
Advanced microchips designed for servers and high-performance computing are allegedly bypassing export controls. They're not landing in data centers but in military hardware on the front lines. The accusation is stark: a critical failure in due diligence and enforcement.
The Sanctions Shell Game
Complex global distribution networks and third-party resellers are creating a labyrinth almost impossible to police. Components slip through legal cracks, moving from civilian suppliers to military end-users with alarming ease. It's a logistics nightmare dressed up as legitimate commerce.
The Tech Sector's Reckoning
This isn't just a geopolitical scandal—it's a direct challenge to the tech industry's claim of ethical governance. When a cutting-edge CPU can guide a missile as well as it runs a cloud server, the line between innovation and complicity blurs beyond recognition. Shareholders might not care about conflict zones, but they tend to notice when global regulators come knocking with massive fines. A cynical finance jab? Nothing boosts a stock price like a good old-fashioned geopolitical crisis and the inevitable, lucrative government contracts for 'enhanced compliance solutions' that follow.
The core question remains unanswered: in the relentless pursuit of quarterly growth, did oversight become an acceptable casualty?
Serious allegations against Intel, AMD
The lawsuits cite five attacks that took place between 2023 and 2025 and claimed dozens of lives. These attacks allegedly involved Iranian-made drones with components associated with Intel and AMD, as well as Russian-made KH-101 cruise missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, all weapons that utilize the resold chips.
In the past, both companies claimed they fully complied with sanctions requirements and ceased business in Russia when the war broke out, with stringent policies put in place to monitor compliance.
In congressional testimony last year, Shannon Thompson, the assistant general counsel at Texas Instruments, said the company “strongly opposes the use of our chips in Russian military equipment” and any such shipments “are illicit and unauthorized.”
Despite such statements, it has become clear that long-standing sanctions and export controls have not been able to keep chips from AMD, Intel, Texas Instruments, and others out of the hands of Russia’s military companies, hence the lawsuits which were filed in Dallas by Mikal Watts, a veteran US mass-tort lawyer, on behalf of Ukrainian citizens.
The US government is also reportedly aware that these chips are still getting into Russian hands and has repeatedly warned chipmakers that they need to do more to staunch this FLOW of chips. Last year, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal accused companies of “objectively and consciously failing to prevent Russia from benefiting from the use of their technology.”
Wednesday’s suits have also identified Mansfield, Texas-based Mouser Electronics, a company Berkshire acquired in 2007 when it bought Mouser’s parent company TTI Inc., as a pain point in the whole issue.
According to reports, the business is focused on selling and distributing semiconductor components and has been accused of facilitating the transfer of chips made by Intel, Texas Instruments, and others to shell companies controlled by Russian proxies.
The cases were filed in Texas because the chip companies and Mouser are either based there or have substantial operations in the state. There’s also the fact that the war made leveling the accusations in the Ukrainian court system impossible.
Despite the allegations, stocks of both Intel and AMD have shown resilience and a limited reaction to the news.
Intel executives stay in the news
The lawsuits against AMD and Intel are coming not long after the episode between Taiwanese authorities and one of Intel’s newest executives, Wei-Jen Lo.
The officials were reportedly investigating whether Lo, who was formerly with TSMC, may have stolen sensitive technology related to advanced semiconductor processes.
During the raid, prosecutors seized computers and other materials, and a court order froze some of Lo’s assets, including real estate, as part of the inquiry. TSMC has since launched legal action, accusing Lo of violating non-compete agreements and trade secrets regulations before his exit from the company.
Lo joined Intel as vice president of research and development after retiring from Taiwan Semiconductor in July, where he held a senior role in corporate strategy and advanced node technology development.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has rejected the allegations.
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