File: President Donald Trump looks on after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025.
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A company controlled by a Chinese national was ordered Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump to unwind a $2.9 million acquisition of chip assets from a U.S. manufacturer, citing national security concerns.
The White House said in a decree that HieFo Corporation, incorporated in Delaware, was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.”
HieFo acquired the digital chips and related wafer design, manufacturing and processing businesses of New Jersey-based Emcore on April 30, 2024, which included a semiconductor manufacturing plantthe Treasury Department said in a separate statement.
The potential diversion of the United States’ supply of indium phosphide chips manufactured by Emcore’s digital chip business has also been identified as a national security risk, the Treasury Department added.
HieFo and Emcore did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
The Global Times, a Chinese government mouthpiece, citing an expert, said the divestment order “reflects Washington’s concern about technological competition with China” as it stood. made without a convincing justification.
The Treasury Department said the deal had not been notified to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, prompting its unnotified transactions team to review it.
“CFIUS has identified a national security risk arising from the transaction, related to potential access to EMCORE’s proprietary intellectual property, know-how, and expertise,” the Treasury Department said.
HieFo was ordered to divest all acquired assets within 180 days and immediately restrict access to Emcore’s technical information.
In a statement dated September 2, 2024, HieFo said the agreement would enable operations continue at Emcore’s Alhambra, Calif., facility and had “successfully engaged” nearly all of the key scientists, engineers and operational personnel.
HieFo was founded by Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore through management’s purchase of wafer manufacturing and chip-related assets from Emcore. Both founders list their start dates at HieFo as May 2024 on LinkedIn, the closing date of the acquisition.
The company claimed to have inherited more than 40 years of optoelectronic innovation in indium phosphide chip manufacturing.
Emcore makes navigation equipment such as gyroscopes and sensors used in commercial, industrial and defense applications, including autonomous navigation and weapons systems, according to its website.
The company was written off of Nasdaq in early 2025 following its merger with aerospace manufacturing holding company Velocity One LP in November 2024.
