Key Points
- President Trump ordered the reversal of a $2.9 million computer chip deal.
- The order forces HieFo Corp. to sell the business within 180 days. Trump cited national security risks due to the owner’s ties to China.
- The original deal was approved under the Biden administration in May 2024.
- The technology is used in the aerospace, defense, and AI industries.
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered a company to divest a computer chip business it acquired last year, arguing the deal threatens U.S. national security. The executive order targets HieFo Corp., requiring it to reverse a $2.9 million deal made during the Biden administration.
The order highlights a transaction that went largely unnoticed when it occurred in May 2024. At the time, the aerospace and defense company Emcore sold its chip and wafer manufacturing operations to HieFo. The small price tag of $2.9 million included HieFo taking on about $1 million in debt.
Now, Trump is giving HieFo 180 days to sell the business, citing “credible evidence” that its owner is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.
HieFo was founded by Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. Interestingly, Zhang was a vice president of engineering at Emcore before leaving to found HieFo and serve as its CEO. After the deal, the company announced that the same team of employees in Alhambra, California, would continue to run the operation. Zhang even pledged to continue developing “innovative and disruptive solutions,” with a focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The technology in question is designed for the aerospace and defense industries, which is likely why the deal caught the attention of the new administration. So far, HieFo has not responded to a request for comment on the President’s order.
Emcore, the company that originally sold the business, was publicly traded at the time of the deal but has since been taken private by an investment firm.
