Late last week, semiconductor industry trackers were astonished by Intel's fresh recruitment of Eric Demers. Until very recently, the seasoned GPU architect had spent almost fourteen years at Qualcomm—ending this spell as senior vice president of engineering. On Friday (January 16), Demers announced this major change—a short story mentioned multiple meetings (in 2025) with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. He confirmed, in a private LinkedIn message (sent to CRN), that he would be starting work at Intel within the next week. Complete details of his new job description—chez Team Blue—were not shared with the American computer publication. Instead, a small hint was dropped—according to the CRN article, Demers expects to "lead GPU engineering with a focus on AI." Looking back in the TechPowerUp news archive, one historical section of Demer's career trajectory was brought forth. In early 2012, he moved on from his Corporate VP & CTO role at AMD's graphics division.

At the time, official statements did not mention his intention to join Qualcomm's Adreno GPU department. Prior to his tenure at ATI/AMD, Demers spent time at Silicon Graphics (SGI), Matrox, and then joined a team of former SGI-ers at start-up ArtX. ATI Technologies acquired ArtX almost three years after the latter's founding date. One of Demers' final projects at Qualcomm seems to be the Windows PC-focused Snapdragon X2 Series. Industry experts anticipate the ex-"other Red Team" engineering executive becoming a key figure at Intel's fairly new "AI Group"—this independent entity could be chasing major enterprise rivals; most notably NVIDIA. Team Blue introduced its "Crescent Island" AI data center accelerator a few months ago. A next-gen successor—dubbed "Jaguar Shores"—is reportedly expected to be "design complete" by the middle of 2026.

Taiwan's Commercial Times has published coverage of a newly launched TSMC recruitment drive—proceedings kicked off last weekend with company representatives heading to the National Taiwan University campus. On the second of March, TSMC set up an outdoor booth on the grounds of Taipei's public research university—where the national comprehensive institute organized a Talent Recruitment Enterprise Expo. Unsurprisingly, TSMC recruiters are seeking potential "talents with high enthusiasm for semiconductors." Ctee's reporter found out that Taiwan's premier foundry is expecting to: "recruit approximately 6,000 new colleagues in Taiwan in 2024, including engineers and technicians." TSMC is reportedly responding to business growth and technology development demands—so much so, that its native manufacturing plants require a fresh influx of workers.

According to Ctee's report, TSMC's March recruitment tour is due to snake through Taiwan and then head over to mainland China: "Tsinghua University, National Cheng Kung University, National Yang-Ming Jiaotong University, Central China University, Zhongxing University, Zhongshan, National Chung Cheng University, Beijing University of Science and Technology, etc., totaling 19 physical activities and four online talent recruitment briefings." A parallel "2024 DNA Summer Internship Program" has also been rolled out: "inviting interested students to join and use internships to personally experience the environment and culture of TSMC." The company's growing global layout also provides opportunities for new employees to work overseas—the article highlights TSMC's newly opened semiconductor fabrication plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan as the preferred choice for "internal employees." The multinational firm's Arizona facilities did not get a shout out, despite recent good news. Reports from mid-2023 suggest that TSMC's core values are at odds with North American work culture.

CD Projekt has been on a recruitment kick in the USA and Canada—"Project Orion"—AKA a sequel to 2020's Cyberpunk 2077—is in the early stages of development at the company's Boston studio (according to earlier reports). An official announcement—issued a few hours ago—outlines a series of new hirings destined for their New England and Vancouver, BC offices. Additionally, multiple members of the original Cyberpunk 2077 development team have moved from CD Projekt Red's principal Warsaw location to the East Coast NA operation—most notably game director Gabriel Amatangelo, associate director Paweł Sasko, and creative director Igor Sarzyński. The company's executive team confirmed (last month) that their Poland office(s) will preside over the embryonic "Project Polaris"—the next mainline entry in their Witcher franchise.

CD Projekt Red North America's hiring of Anna Megill's has received the most press coverage—she will become the Cyberpunk sequel's Lead Writer. The company press release documented her work history: "narrative contributions to such titles as Control (Remedy), Dishonored: Death of The Outsider (Arkane), Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Ubisoft Massive), Guild Wars 2 (ArenaNet), and the upcoming Fable (Playground Games)." The Executive Producer position will be filled by Dan Hernberg, previously Head of Production at Amazon Games and Panic Button, as well as Lead Product Manager at Blizzard Entertainment—his CV includes "contributions" to New World, Apex Legends, and Diablo III. Ryan Barnard has been hired as Design Director, his past credits include: "Game Director at Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft, as well as Gameplay Director at Hitman developer IO Interactive." Alexander Freed (a former BioWare lead writer) will be contributing additional plot content. Cyberpunk multiplayer elements have been teased by CD Projekt leadership, so it would make sense to have several MMO-experienced senior staffers onboard.

We are excited to announce the opening of our fourth IOI studio in Istanbul, Türkiye. Uniquely positioned in the pan-continental gateway to Europe and Asia, IOI Istanbul is a crucial part in the continued growth and success of IO Interactive.

With a thriving tech and mobile development scene, we identified Istanbul as a region filled with talent that is furiously passionate, development-focused and technically creative. Istanbul is also a city rich in history, offering a strong cultural presence, historic architecture, astonishing Bosphorus views and vibrant and varied culture.