The US may be on the verge of striking a roughly $10 billion deal with Intel. The move would be a remarkable development and a rare example of the government getting financially involved in a private company.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Intel had agreed to a deal with the US, saying the chipmaker would pay around $10 billion, which would represent a roughly 10% stake in the company.
A deal hasn’t been confirmed by Intel. Intel declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether an official deal had been reached.
Intel’s stock jumped more than 6% following the remarks.
A multi-billion-dollar investment into Intel could make the US the largest shareholder in the embattled chipmaker. The company has seen its market share decline as foreign rivals like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company grow.
Trump previously met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan at the White House after calling for Tan’s “immediate” resignation due to reported investments in Chinese companies. Following the meeting, Trump sounded a much different tone, praising Tan’s “amazing story.”
On Friday, Trump talked more about his discussions with the CEO.
“I said, you know what, I think the United States should be given 10% of Intel,” Trump said on Friday, referencing his conversation with Intel’s CEO. “And he said, I would consider that. I said, well, I’d like you to do that because Intel’s been left behind as, you know, compared to Jensen.”
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“I said I think it would be good having the United States as your partner. He agreed. And they’ve agreed to do it and I think it’s a great deal for them and I think it’s a great deal,” Trump added.
“He walked in wanting to keep his job, and he wound up giving us $10 billion to the United States. So we picked up $10 billion,” Trump said. “And we do a lot of deals like that. I’ll do more of them.”
Intel and White House officials had talked about converting roughly $11 billion that Intel was set to receive under the Biden-era Chips and Science Act into an equity stake, Bloomberg previously reported. Trump has repeatedly criticized the bipartisan law, but like his predecessor, he wants to increase the share of semiconductors made in the US.
“A revitalized US chip industry will generate thousands of high-paying jobs, reinforce our technological leadership, and protect our supply chains from disruption by foreign rivals,” reads Trump’s AI Action Plan, which was published last month.
Semiconductors are difficult to manufacture, especially the more advanced a chip becomes. Still, they are a major component in everything from smartphones to AI. Global shortages, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened concerns that the US is too reliant on foreign production for the cornerstone of modern technology. Intel is one of just a handful of US companies that both manufactures and designs chips.
The US taking a stake in Intel would illustrate the White House’s growing support for aggressive intervention into the private sector. The US holds a so-called “golden share” in United States Steel Corp, and the Pentagon announced in July that it would take a $400 million preferred equity stake in MP Materials Corp, a US-based rare earth producer.
