Morgan Stanley has secured the services of Tim Luke, a prominent semiconductor investment banker from Barclays, who will assume a senior advisory role at the U.S. bank.

Luke, who currently serves as Vice Chairman of Barclays' global technology investment banking group, is renowned for his deep expertise in the chip sector, having built his career as both an investment banker and an equity research analyst.

His extensive track record includes advising on some of the industry's most significant transactions, notably the 2023 initial public offering of Arm Holdings, the SoftBank-backed chip designer, which achieved a valuation of US$54 billion.

This recruitment is part of a broader hiring spree by Morgan Stanley, which has been actively attracting top talent from rivals to strengthen its technology banking franchise. Earlier, the bank also brought on board Emma Taylor, a former Barclays internet-sector banker.

Recent high-profile mandates for Morgan Stanley include serving as an advisor on the US$105 billion credit facility supporting Nvidia's investment in OpenAI, as well as the US$7 billion acquisition of Synaptics by Onsemi.

The move, which was first reported by Bloomberg, underscores the competitive dynamics within the investment banking landscape.