The decision announced by President Donald Trump on Friday set in motion the unraveling of a semiconductor deal first announced during President Joe Biden’s administration, the Associated Press reported. The executive order directed HieFo Corp. to separate itself from chip and wafer-fabrication technology that Trump said threatened U.S. security interests if the current owner retained control.
The order singled out the transaction’s price and structure, describing a sale of Emcore Corp.’s computer chips and wafer fabrication operations to HieFo for $2.92 million, including the assumption of about $1 million in liabilities. The AP reported that the deal, announced in May 2024, had drawn scant public attention at the time.
Trump’s action came with a specific deadline, requiring HieFo to divest the technology within 180 days. In the executive order, Trump cited “credible evidence” supporting a national-security concern tied to HieFo’s ownership—specifically, that the current owner is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.
The AP said HieFo’s founders include Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. Zhang had been a vice president of engineering at Emcore before becoming HieFo’s chief executive, the report said, and the AP described a pledge from Zhang—made in connection with the deal—for continued pursuit of innovative technology designed for applications that could include artificial intelligence.
The AP reported that HieFo did not respond immediately to a request for comment about the Trump order. It also noted that Emcore had been publicly traded at the time of the HieFo deal, but was taken private last year by Charlesbank Capital Partners.