On April 3, CR Microelectronics, a leading Chinese semiconductor IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer), announced a major leadership change as its President and CEO, Li Hong, resigned due to personal reasons. Following his resignation, Li will no longer hold any position within the company, nor will he be considered a core technical personnel. This unexpected development has sparked widespread attention within the semiconductor industry.

Li Hong had been with CR Microelectronics since 2009, and during his 16-year tenure, he played a pivotal role in the company's growth and transformation. He was instrumental in the execution of the company's "Two Rivers, Three Cities" strategic expansion, which focused on developing industrial clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin City Economic Circle, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. Under his leadership, CR Microelectronics successfully launched several key manufacturing lines, including a 12-inch wafer production line in Chongqing, a 12-inch analog process production line in Shenzhen, and a high-end photomask production line in Wuxi, forming a comprehensive industry chain from design to manufacturing and packaging.

The company's 2024 performance reflects a slight increase in revenue but a significant decline in profits. CR Microelectronics reported a total revenue of 10.119 billion yuan, up 2.20% year-on-year, while its net profit attributable to the parent company fell by 47.55%, amounting to 776 million yuan. Despite this, the company's continued expansion in the power semiconductor sector, particularly in automotive electronics and new energy applications, has been a key driver of growth.

Meanwhile, recent personnel changes at CR Microelectronics have raised eyebrows. Just weeks before Li Hong's resignation, the company announced that Chen Xiaojun had stepped down as chairman on March 8 due to work changes. On March 28, He Xiaolong was elected as the new chairman. He Xiaolong, a former Deputy General Manager of CR Group's Strategic Management Department, brings a wealth of technical expertise and industry experience to the role.

In a separate but related development, sources revealed that Nvidia has acquired Lepton AI, a startup founded by Jia Yangqing, a former Alibaba Vice President. The acquisition, reportedly valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, has led to Jia and Lepton's co-founder Bai Junjie joining Nvidia. Lepton AI, which was founded in 2023, specializes in renting Nvidia GPU servers and developing software to help startups build and manage their AI applications in the cloud. This acquisition signals Nvidia's strategic move to strengthen its position in the cloud and enterprise software market.

With this acquisition, Nvidia aims to offer scalable GPU resources for AI workloads, a move that could further enhance its foothold in the cloud infrastructure market. Lepton AI's platform has already attracted clients in sectors such as gaming and scientific research, and its focus on low-latency AI inference and GPU leasing is positioning it as a competitor to startups like Together AI.

These developments mark significant changes in both CR Microelectronics and Nvidia, signaling shifts in the semiconductor and AI industries as companies strive to strengthen their technological and market positions.