Intel’s chief executive officer retired effective immediately, the legacy Silicon Valley stalwart announced Monday, a shakeup that follows an extended period of stock market underperformance for the semiconductor chipmaker.

Gelsinger was born and raised on a Berks County farm and accepted a scholarship to Lincoln Tech in Allentown at the age of 16.

Shake up in Silicon Valley. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announces immediate retirement with the company naming two interim co-CEOs to lead the chipmaker. He started at Intel in 1979 and was its first chief technology officer.

“Pat stepping down presents an opportunity for Intel to finally face the hard truth: That without virtually unlimited capital its current strategy will bankrupt the company,” commented TheCUBE Research Chief Analyst Dave Vellante. “As David Floyer & I have said for years, it’s long past the time to spin Foundry.”

Intel's Chief Financial Officer, David Zinsner, and Executive Vice President, Michelle Johnston Holthaus, have taken over as interim co-CEOs while the board searches for a permanent replacement.

Intel CEO CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, with David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus named as interim Co-CEOs. Gelsinger, whose career has spanned more than 40 years, also stepped down from the company's board. He started at Intel in 1979 at Intel and was its first chief technology officer. He returned to Intel as chief executive in 2021.

Gelsinger, whose career has spanned more than 40 years, also stepped down from the company's board, effective Dec. 1, 2024. He started at Intel in 1979 at Intel and was its first chief technology officer. He returned to Intel as chief executive in 2021.

Moreover, Gelsinger also faced the significant boom of artificial intelligence after OpenAI released the famed ChatGPT, leading to many asking for chips to power AI developments and data centers, to which the company did not have an answer during that moment.

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger took to social media to invite people to pray and fast for the chipmaker's employees, saying the company is going through a "difficult period."

CEO Pat Gelsinger stepped down on Dec. 1 after nearly four years in the top job. While the press release officially described his departure as a retirement, he was given two options: step down or be fired.