Texas Instruments, Intel microchips used in Russian missiles, lawsuits say
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The Texas Instruments headquarters in Dallas. Photo: N. Johnson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Microchip manufacturer Texas Instruments (TI), Intel Corporation and other tech companies are accused in several lawsuits of supplying chips that were used in Russia's attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
The big picture: Four Texas law firms allege in five new lawsuits that Dallas-based TI, along with Intel, semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices and electronics component distributor Mouser Electronics contributed to the wrongful deaths of Ukraine residents.
- The lawsuits say the companies evaded U.S. export laws to supply semiconductor parts to the Russian and Iranian militaries. The companies "knew or had reason to know" that their components were being used in weapons, one of the suits filed Wednesday in Dallas County reads.
Context: Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 Kamikaze drones in bombings of Ukrainian cities, and the lawsuits claim TI and the other tech companies' chips were found in the weapons.
- The suits say Mansfield-based Mouser Electronics facilitated the sale of chips made by TI and Intel to Russia.
Zoom in: One lawsuit says the manufacturers' products were found in weapons used during a Russian rocket strike of a Ukrainian residential area in April. At least 19 people were killed and another 74 were injured, per the lawsuit.
- The strike hit a playground, killing several children, including the 3-year-old grandson of one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
- "The playground was not close to any military installations, and the nearest businesses were a cafe and a beauty salon," the complaint says.
Catch up quick: Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has stretched over three years.
- The United Nations reported this week that at least 14,775 civilians have been killed since February 2022 in Ukraine. More than 39,000 others were injured, but the full toll "is feared to be far higher."
- About 63,000 Ukrainians have been reported missing, according to a government database.
What they're saying: "These companies, through their willful ignorance of Russian and Iranian diversion of their products, have chosen to maximize profit ahead of and in favor of their duties to take reasonable, and legally required, steps to keep their products out of the wrong hands," the suit says.
The other side: An Intel spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation but said the company doesn't conduct business in Russia and "promptly suspended" all shipments to customers in both Russia and Belarus after the war began.
- "We operate in strict accordance with export laws, sanctions and regulations in the U.S. and every market in which we operate, and we hold our suppliers, customers, and distributors accountable to these same standards," the spokesperson said in a statement.
- "We deeply respect the legal process and will respond to this matter in court, versus the media," Kevin Hess, Mouser's senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement shared with Axios on Thursday.
- AMD didn't reply to Axios' requests seeking comment on the lawsuit Thursday.
An undated statement on TI's website says the company stopped selling products into Russia and Belarus in February 2022 and "strongly opposes" the use of its chips in Russian military equipment.
- "We devote significant time and resources to developing, implementing and refining policies and procedures to combat illicit diversion and keep chips out of the hands of bad actors," the company wrote.
- TI didn't respond to Axios' requests for comment.
This story has been updated with new information.