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Days after Intel CEO meets with Trump, the federal government is reportedly negotiating a stake in the chips champion

Nick Lichtenberg
Fri, August 15, 2025 


Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, following a meeting at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025.


In a potentially dramatic shift for corporate America and U.S. industrial policy, the Trump administration is actively considering a plan to buy a direct stake in Intel, one of the world’s largest and most strategically important chipmakers and the recent target of fierce criticism from the president himself. These revelations, first reported by Bloomberg, triggered an immediate surge in Intel’s stock—jumping by as much as 8.9% in late Thursday trading as investors responded to the possibility of government intervention and support for the beleaguered firm.

This kind of direct government investment in a tech giant marks a notable departure from the more hands-off approach favored by nearly all previous U.S. administrations. Traditionally, federal support for chipmaking came mainly in the form of grants or subsidies, such as those allocated under the CHIPS Act. Trump’s approach appears to favor direct equity stakes, echoing recent White House moves in other sectors, such as the federal government taking a “golden share” while allowing Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel, and the Department of Defense buying $400 million in preferred shares in MP Materials, a miner of rare-earth minerals.
Motivations and political context

The rationale for this move centers on strengthening U.S. technological independence, with Intel being the only major semiconductor company producing advanced chips at scale inside the U.S. Its planned mega-plant in Ohio—originally announced in 2022 as a $20 billion investment—has faced repeated delays amid struggles to compete with global leaders such as TSMC and Samsung.


The semiconductor sector is increasingly seen as crucial for everything from smartphones to weaponry. Trump’s critics often cite “state capitalism,” but supporters argue direct support for Intel is essential for national security, technological leadership, and economic growth, especially as China, Taiwan, and South Korea pour resources into their own chip industries.

The current situation at Intel

Intel has been reeling from a series of setbacks. In 2024, its stock lost 60% of its value—the sharpest drop in its history. The company missed key opportunities in AI chips, and its foundry business, aimed at producing chips for other firms, is reportedly struggling to win major clients.

Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, was named after the board ousted Pat Gelsinger last year in an effort to accelerate a turnaround. Tan has already scaled back ambitions for the Ohio plant, deferring expansions and taking a cautious, demand-driven approach. His past investments in Chinese semiconductor firms drew pointed criticism after a bombshell Reuters investigation in April—so much so that President Trump publicly called for his resignation last week over allegations that Tan was “highly conflicted” with his ties to Chinese entities. Tan has since held a meeting with Trump at the White House, which Trump called “very interesting,” adding that Tan has “an amazing story.” People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the current investment plan stems from those crunch talks.

Previous to Trump’s statement, four former directors of Intel published a commentary exclusive to Fortune, saying the company was likely to retreat as America’s chips champion. After the president’s statement, they advocated for a separation of Intel’s essential foundry business that’s so core to national security.

Former Intel CEO Craig Barrett has since provided a commentary to Fortune about how to save the company, calling Intel “cash poor” and unable to afford “investments in the capacity needed in the future to replace [semiconductor rival] TSMC or even a reasonable fraction of TSMC capacity.” Barrett added that Intel probably needs a cash infusion of roughly $40 billion to be competitive. “Realistically that investment is 100% of the [CHIPS] Act capital grants so unlikely the [U.S. government] is the savior.” Bloomberg subsequently reported that the Trump administration was considering using funds from the CHIPS Act to at least partially fund the purchase of an equity stake in Intel, citing people familiar with the matter.

The White House and Intel did not respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.

For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com


The White House reportedly discussing taking a stake in Intel, sending shares climbing

Clare Duffy, Phil Mattingly, CNN
Thu, August 14, 2025 


The Intel logo on a sign in front of Intel headquarters on July 16 in Santa Clara, California. - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Trump administration is reportedly considering having the US government take a stake in Intel, a company that was once one of America’s most important tech giants but which has since fallen on hard times.

Following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan this week, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the two sides are discussing an unusual deal in which the government would pay for a stake in the company. The specifics are reportedly still being worked out.

The agreement could bolster the struggling chipmaker, which has fallen behind rivals after missing key technology waves. The White House also wants to help Intel follow through on plans to open a new US manufacturing facility in Ohio, which has been repeatedly delayed, according to Bloomberg. Intel shares (INTC) rose more than 7% on Thursday, jumping in late-day trading following Bloomberg’s report about the talks.

It’s unclear when or if such a deal might be inked. But if it were to happen, it could also serve as a model for other investments by the Trump administration, which has been weighing opportunities to take similar stakes in various US companies in critical industries, two people familiar with the White House discussions on the matter told CNN. Trump has been pushing to increase domestic manufacturing, especially of key tech products and components such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence data centers.

“Discussion about hypothetical deals should be regarded as speculation unless officially announced by the Administration,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to CNN.

An Intel spokesperson declined to comment on the Bloomberg report but said the company “is deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts to strengthen U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.”

“We look forward to continuing our work with the Trump Administration to advance these shared priorities, but we are not going to comment on rumors or speculation,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Tan met with Trump on Monday after the president called for his immediate resignation following reports and allegations that he has ties to China. Trump later called the meeting “very interesting” and said Tan’s “success and rise is an amazing story.” The president added that he expected Intel and his cabinet members to bring him “suggestions” in the coming days.

Intel called the meeting “candid and constructive” and reiterated its commitment to “strengthening U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.”

The people familiar with the discussions said Intel approached the meeting with the intent to discuss a wide range of potential investment or partnerships proposals. That presented an opportunity for Trump, emboldened after a series of unique investment partnerships between his administration and corporate America, the people said. The two sides agreed to continue conversations geared toward an agreement in the days following the meeting.

Tan took over Intel in March and has been attempting to turn around the beleaguered company. Intel said last month that it had mostly completed plans to lay off 15% of its staff as part of Tan’s efforts to right the ship.

A White House-Intel deal wouldn’t be the first unusual arrangement the Trump administration has come to with an American firm in recent weeks.

Last month, American rare-earth materials company MP Materials announced a multibillion-dollar package of investments and long-term purchase commitments from the US Department of Defense that it said would help it build a new US magnet manufacturing plant and expand existing facilities.

And US chipmakers AMD and Nvidia this week agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from semiconductor sales to China in exchange for licenses to restart exports there, following meetings between Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.