Chipmaker Intel has agreed to give the United States government a 10 percent equity stake in its business, a move announced Friday by both the company and President Donald Trump.
Under the agreement, Washington will receive 433.3 million shares of Intel common stock — representing a 9.9 percent stake — in exchange for $8.9 billion in government support. The package includes $5.7 billion in grants originally approved under the CHIPS and Science Act during President Joe Biden’s administration, along with $3.2 billion awarded through the Secure Enclave program.
The deal is in addition to $2.2 billion Intel has already received under the CHIPS Act, bringing total government funding to $11.1 billion. Intel said the U.S. government’s stake would remain “passive ownership, with no board representation or other governance or information rights.”
President Trump, speaking on Truth Social, declared that “The United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL,” claiming the government “paid nothing for these shares” after his negotiations with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. At a press briefing, Trump said he had urged Intel to make the U.S. “a partner,” calling the agreement “a great deal for them.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hailed the arrangement as “historic,” saying it would bolster U.S. leadership in the semiconductor industry. Intel, once dominant in Silicon Valley, has seen its position weakened by Asian competitors TSMC and Samsung, which lead in contract chip manufacturing. The company has pledged more than $100 billion to expand its U.S. production footprint.
The move has sparked criticism from analysts who warn it could politicize corporate decision-making. Independent technology analyst Rob Enderle described the deal as “a slippery slope” toward nationalisation, while Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute said government ownership in Intel was “a terrible decision” that could undermine the firm’s long-term viability and expose it to foreign retaliation.
In a statement, CEO Tan reaffirmed Intel’s commitment to ensuring “the world’s most advanced technologies are American made.” The deal follows a $7.9 billion direct funding award Intel received in November 2024 under the CHIPS and Science Act, and comes as Japan’s SoftBank Group confirmed a separate $2 billion investment in the company.
Earlier this month, Trump had called for Tan’s resignation after concerns were raised over his ties to Chinese firms, though Intel has not commented on that matter.
