Activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb takes on Intel, plans launch of new VC fund
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/30/third-point-intel-venture-fund/
Third Point, the activist hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb, is busy in the waning days of 2020. It’s had great returns despite huge turbulence early in the pandemic — Reuters says that it is up 12.3% for the year as of earlier this month — and the firm clearly sees more and more potential for growth in the tech sector.
First, we learned via Asa Fitch at the Wall Street Journal yesterday that the hedge fund sent a vituperative shareholder letter to Intel chair Omar Ishrak, demanding wide-scale changes in its management after the American chipmaker fell dramatically behind rivals in recent years. As I noted in TechCrunch’s 2020 wrapup of the semiconductor industry, Intel has a make-or-break moment coming next year, and now with even further activist pressure from hedge funds, the push to fix Intel’s underlying problems is intensifying.