Intel And Trump Seal The Deal For An $8.9B Investment In US Chip Manufacturing

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After calling for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s immediate resignation just two weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump backed off his previous assessment of Tan being “highly CONFLICTED” in his role and praised him as being “Highly Respected” in a Truth Social post announcing a deal for 10% of Intel. Talk about a wild couple of weeks, eh?

In a press release, Intel provided a few more details, saying the U.S. government is making an $8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock, a move the company says reflects confidence in the firm to “advance key national priorities” and expand domestic chip making.

“As the only semiconductor company that does leading-edge logic R&D and manufacturing in the U.S., Intel is deeply committed to ensuring the world’s most advanced technologies are American made,” Tan said in a statement. “President Trump’s focus on U.S. chip manufacturing is driving historic investments in a vital industry that is integral to the country’s economic and national security. We are grateful for the confidence the President and the Administration have placed in Intel, and we look forward to working to advance U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.”

Just met with President Trump to announce a historic agreement: the U.S. government is investing $8.9B in @Intel to boost American semiconductor leadership.

I’m excited about the work ahead to ensure the most advanced silicon technology and computing products of the future are… pic.twitter.com/8PUcJyiNJu

— Lip-Bu Tan (@LipBuTan1) August 22, 2025

It’s another vote of confidence in Intel after SoftBank days ago announced it was investing $2 billion into the chip maker, also in common stock, to advanced U.S. chip innovation. SoftBank is the majority shareholder in Arm, which primarily designs and licenses RISC-based architectures. Intel’s bread and butter is in x86 architectures.

The U.S. government’s $8.9 billion investment in Intel is being funded by $5.7 billion in unpaid grants previously awarded to the firm as part of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, plus $3.2 billion as part of the Defense Department’s Secure Enclave program that funds chips made in the USA. Notably, Intel already received $2.2 billion in previous CHIPS and Science Act funding, bringing the total investment to $11.1 billion.

“Intel is excited to welcome the United States of America as a shareholder, helping to create the most advanced chips in the world,” said Howard Lutnick, United States Secretary of Commerce. “As more companies look to invest in America, this administration remains committed to reinforcing our country’s dominance in artificial intelligence while strengthening our national security.”

The U.S. government’s stake in Intel amounts to passive ownership, meaning it can’t directly influence the chip maker’s operations, at least not as part of this deal. It will not have any Board representation or other governance or information rights, Intel said.

This is the latest in a series of unusual and unprecedented moves by the Trump Administration to become more directly vested in U.S. chip manufacturing and operations. Earlier this month, it was announced that both AMD and NVIDIA agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of all revenues derived from AI chip sales to China, effectively giving the firms a green light to ship the former’s Instinct MI308 and the latter’s Hopper H20 silicon to the Chinese market.