WASHINGTON — U.S. chipmaking giant Intel has agreed to hand the federal government nearly a 10 percent ownership stake in its business, following negotiations with President Donald Trump, the company announced Friday.
Under the deal, Washington will receive 433.3 million shares of Intel common stock — equivalent to a 9.9 percent stake — valued at $8.9 billion. The investment will be funded through $5.7 billion in pending grants under the Biden-era CHIPS and Science Act, alongside $3.2 billion from the Secure Enclave program, Intel said.
The agreement comes in addition to $2.2 billion in CHIPS grants Intel has already received, raising the government’s total support for the company to $11.1 billion.
Trump hailed the move as a historic win. “The United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of Intel,” he posted on Truth Social, claiming the country “paid nothing for these shares” after direct talks with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
“I told them, I think it would be good having the United States as your partner,” Trump told reporters. “They’ve agreed to do it, and I think it’s a great deal for them.”
Intel, however, emphasized that the government’s new role will be passive, with “no board representation or other governance or information rights.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praised the development, calling it a “historic agreement” that would strengthen U.S. semiconductor leadership.
Still, critics warned the move could set a dangerous precedent. “This is a slippery slope,” said independent tech analyst Rob Enderle. “It’s a step toward nationalizing private business.”
Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute echoed the concern, arguing the decision would politicize Intel’s operations, harm its long-term competitiveness, and invite retaliation from foreign governments.
Despite the backlash, Intel said it remains “deeply committed to ensuring the world’s most advanced technologies are American made,” noting it is investing more than $100 billion to expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint.
The deal marks a dramatic turn for the iconic Silicon Valley firm, which has struggled to keep pace with Asian rivals TSMC and Samsung.
Earlier this month, Trump had called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s resignation after national security concerns were raised about his ties to Chinese firms.
Meanwhile, Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank recently announced a separate $2 billion investment in Intel.
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