Embattled Intel Corp. CEO Bob Swan will step down from the role Feb. 15, seven months after admitting to manufacturing delays that left the world's largest semiconductor company well behind competitors and facing increasing pressure to course-correct.

Current VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger, who once served as Intel's chief technology officer, will take over as Intel chief following Swan's departure.

Shares of Intel soared following news of the leadership change and were up over 8% in early trading Jan. 13.

Intel experienced significant competitive setbacks under Swan's leadership. In July 2020, Swan admitted during an earnings call with analysts that continuing manufacturing problems would cause a long delay in the release of a 7-nanometer chip design that would have brought Intel closer to parity with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and other competitors that were already shipping 7-nm processors. Even as Intel struggled with its 7-nm design, its rivals were developing more intricate 5-nm chip designs.

Analysts said Intel's manufacturing problems started nearly five years before its stumble with 7-nm chips, and some suggested Swan's background — in finance, rather than engineering — made it more difficult for Swan to guide the company as it worked to fix its manufacturing problems.

The delay in releasing 7-nm chips also hampered Intel's product roadmap, leading to downstream delays in upgrades for companies that make components for PCs, servers and other devices that use cutting-edge chips.

In May 2020, Apple Inc. announced it would end a long-standing contract with Intel and use chips of its own design in its laptops and tablet computers.

Hedge fund Third Point had recently urged Intel to better define the company's future by resolving the question of whether it had become too expensive and difficult for Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, to continue to manufacture its own chips rather than outsourcing the task, as rival chip designers have done.