The US government is taking a 10 percent stake in Intel
President Donald Trump says the US government is taking a 10 percent stake in chip maker Intel. Trump shared the news during a press conference on Friday, though an official announcement is still forthcoming, Reuters reports. News of a plan to convert Intel’s previously promised CHIPS Act funding into equity in the company was first reported earlier in August.
A meeting between Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Trump following the President’s call for Tan to resign seems to be the source of the deal. “He walked in wanting to keep his job and he ended up giving us 10 billion dollars for the United States. So we picked up 10 billion,” Trump shared during the press conference.
Based on Intel’s current share price, a 10 percent stake would be worth around $10 billion, Reuters says. It’s important to note that the government investing in Intel is not the same thing as receiving free money, it’s the exact opposite. The government’s stake in Intel will also be non-voting, according to earlier comments from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Intel was supposed to receive up to $10.86 billion in federal funding to expand its chip manufacturing business in the US as part of the CHIPS Act. By agreeing to this deal, Tan is likely trying to make sure that funding still goes through, one of several drastic moves to keep Intel afloat. Tan assumed the title of CEO following Pat Gelsinger’s sudden retirement in 2024. Since taking over, he’s already committed to cutting Intel’s workforce by 20 percent. Even with lower costs and guaranteed investment, the company’s future is still uncertain: Intel is reportedly struggling to make its next-gen Panther Lake chips at scale.
The Trump administration says it won’t seek similar equity deals with other recipients of CHIPS Act funding. That hasn’t stopped them from making other equally unprecedented financial arrangements. NVIDIA and AMD reportedly struck a deal with the US government that gives the companies the ability to export products to China in exchange for 15 percent of their profits.
