The US government wants a 10% stake in Intel in return for that CHIPS act cash

(Image credit: Future)

If you recall, yesterday we mentioned that the Trump administration was considering a 10% stake in poor old, beleaguered Intel. Now it turns out that the mooted investment won't strictly be in return for new money. Instead, Trump wants the 10% stake as part of the CHIPS Act deal inked under the previous Biden administration.

In an interview with CNBC yesterday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Intel must give the US government an equity stake in the company in return for those CHIPS Act funds.

That mirrors comments from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. "The president wants to put America's needs first, both from a national security and economic perspective, and it's a creative idea that has never been done before," she said. Reuters also claims that Secretary Lutnick implied that the government wanted non-voting shares, thus preventing direct interference with Intel's operations.

A photograph of Intel's Interim Co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus standing on stage, with a background displaying Panther Lake and Intel 18A — Intel's next-gen CPU tech, brought to you by the US government...? (Image credit: Future)

This is all quite a departure from earlier comments from President Trump, calling the CHIPS Act a "horrible thing." But it does arguably make at least some sense. There's a legitimate question to be asked as to why a large corporation, even one as strategically important as Intel, should simply be given taxpayer money.

Moreover, whatever the Trump administration's intentions with all this, ensuring that the average taxpayer ends up with something in return for sending billions of dollars Intel's way does seem more progressive than simply handing over the money. If the effort to revitalise Intel with public money does work, that stake can then be sold at a later date, partially or wholly recouping those funds, or perhaps even realising some kind of return.

There is, of course, the broader question of the wisdom of government ownership of commercial assets. Perhaps fears of being accused of trying to nationalise the chip industry discouraged the Biden administration, which instituted the CHIPS Act in the first place, from insisting on an equity stake in return for the funds.

Whatever, it's certainly momentous times for Intel. Just five years ago, the idea that the US government was intending to take a 10% stake in the company would have seemed extraordinary, if not bizarre. But here we are.

Best PC build 2025

👉Check out our list of guides👈

1. Best CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

2. Best motherboard: MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi

3. Best RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32 GB DDR5-7200

4. Best SSD: WD_Black SN7100

5. Best graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 9070

Jeremy has been writing about technology and PCs since the 90nm Netburst era (Google it!) and enjoys nothing more than a serious dissertation on the finer points of monitor input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of advanced lithography. Or maybe he just likes machines that go “ping!” He also has a thing for tennis and cars.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.