Intel disclosed in a filing on Thursday that Tan notified the board on 19 August of his immediate departure, corroborating an earlier report by Bloomberg News.

Tan, a former CEO of Cadence Design Systems who also manages an investment firm, attributed the decision to “demands on his time.”

“This is a personal decision based on a need to reprioritise various commitments, and I remain supportive of the company and its important work,” he stated in the filing.

However, cynics would note that the resignation follows a catastrophic quarterly report earlier this month, which triggered Intel shares' steepest decline in decades. The once-dominant chipmaker issued a bleak forecast, suspended its long-standing dividend, and announced plans to reduce its workforce by more than 15 per cent.

CEO Pat Gelsinger has been striving to reclaim Intel’s position in the chip industry by investing heavily in new factories and technologies. Yet, competitors like Nvidia. and Advanced Micro Devices have continued to advance.

Tan was elected to the board in September 2022 and appointed to Intel’s mergers and acquisitions committee.

Upon joining the board, Tan lauded Gelsinger’s audacious leadership and remarked that the company was “undergoing a massive transformation to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead.”

However, Intel has lately concentrated on cost-cutting measures. In addition to efforts to trim jobs and expenses, the chipmaker cancelled its annual Innovation event and recently divested its stake in chip technology creator Arm.