According to the British media Telegraph,Simon Beresford-Wylie, CEO of British semiconductor IP company Imagination Technologies, was forced to resign after being accused of transferring key technology to China.According to reports, before Simon Beresford-Wylie resigned,Imagination sold extensive rights to use the advanced GPU IP it designed to China's Biren Technology and MooreThreads, both of which were previously included in the U.S. Entity List.
A report from the UK-China Transparency Centre, a local research organization, said Hertfordshire-based Imagination has transferred "core assets" to the two Chinese technology companies.
Imagination officials also denied that Mr Beresford-Wylie's departure was not related to the controversy. Imagination stressed that it has always complied with export laws, never sold its technology for military use, and denied that core assets were transferred to China.
A spokesman for Imagination said:"We can confirm that Simon Beresford-Wylie, who turns 67 next year, has been considering his retirement plans for several months. He is committed to staying with the company and achieving an orderly transition. No date has been set for his departure. Imagination has begun a search for his successor."
However, Mr Beresford-Wylie's departure comes at a critical time for the British company, which is coming to the end of a lucrative five-year deal with Apple and trying to navigate the escalating trade war between China and the United States.
Imagination mainly designs GPU IP and related AI accelerator IP required for products such as smartphones and connected cars. The company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2017 after being acquired by CanyonBridge, a US venture fund with Chinese background.
On April 6, 2020, at the planned board meeting of Imagination, it was originally decided to allow the Chinese controlling shareholder Canyon Bridge to parachute four directors to the board of directors. However, the plan was informed by the British government and intervened, and it was canceled only 24 hours before the meeting.
Due to the failure of the battle for control of the company, Ron Black, then CEO of Imagination, as well as chief product officer Steve Evans and chief technology officer John Rayfield resigned on April 10 and left the board of directors. Both Evans and Rayfield said they would reconsider leaving their jobs if the Chinese shareholders gave up control of the company.
Therefore, Ray Bingham, executive chairman of Imagination and partner of Canyon Bridge, temporarily serves as CEO. In October 2020, Imagination invited Simon Beresford-Wylie, who was the CEO of Arqiva, a leading British communications, broadcasting and media service provider, to serve as Imagination CEO.
However, the dispute between former Imagination CEO Ron Black and Imagination is not over. Ron Black has been suing Imagination for $220 million through a UK employment tribunal.
An employment tribunal recently ruled that Ron Black's dismissal was unfair due to concerns that Imagination's core assets could be transferred to China.