Key Points
- The Trump administration is reportedly considering taking a stake in Intel.
- The move is being driven by national security concerns and the need to reduce reliance on foreign chipmakers.
- Intel’s stock soared on the news, on track for its best week in over 25 years.
- The government may use funds from the CHIPS Act to finance the potential deal.
The Trump administration is considering taking a direct stake in struggling chipmaker Intel, a move one analyst called “essential” for U.S. national security. The news, first reported by Bloomberg, sent Intel’s stock soaring more than 4% on Friday, putting it on track for its best week in over 25 years.
The potential government intervention highlights deep concerns in Washington about the country’s reliance on foreign companies, like Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung, for the world’s most advanced computer chips.
With Intel, a once-dominant American icon, falling behind its rivals, the White House is reportedly weighing an unprecedented step to prop it up.
“We’re all capitalists,” said Gil Luria, a technology analyst at D.A. Davidson. “We don’t want government to intervene in and own private enterprise, but this is national security.” Luria argued that Intel has had decades to get it right and has failed, making government intervention necessary.
The administration is reportedly looking at using funds from the CHIPS Act to finance the deal. This comes just days after Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, met with President Trump at the White House, following the president’s public call for Tan’s resignation over his past business ties to China.
Luria compared the critical importance of domestic chip manufacturing to making ammunition for the military, especially with the rise of superintelligent AI. “We can’t rely on somebody else making shell casings for our nuclear arsenal,” Luria said. “We have to get it right.”
