Trump Administration Is Said to Discuss US Taking Stake in Intel
By Ryan Gould, Josh Wingrove, and Liana Baker
August 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM EDT
The Trump administration is in talks with Intel Corp. to have the US government potentially take a stake in the beleaguered chipmaker, helping support the company’s effort to expand domestic manufacturing, according to people familiar with the plan.
The deal would help shore up Intel’s planned factory hub in Ohio, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The company had once promised to turn that site into the world’s largest chipmaking facility, though it’s been repeatedly delayed. The size of the potential stake isn’t clear.
The plans stem from a meeting this week
between President Donald Trump and Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, the people said. The idea is for the US government to pay for the stake and details are being sorted out, one of the people said. Another cautioned that the plans remain fluid.
Intel declined to comment on discussions. In a statement, a representative said the company is “deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts to strengthen US technology and manufacturing leadership.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with the Trump administration to advance these shared priorities, but we are not going to comment on rumors or speculation,” Intel said.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Any agreement would bolster Intel’s finances at a time when the company has been slashing spending and cutting jobs. It also suggests that Tan will remain at Intel’s helm. Trump had called for his ouster before the meeting over concerns about Tan’s ties to China.
It’s the latest direct intervention by Trump into a key industry. The administration reached an agreement to receive a 15% cut of certain semiconductor sales to China and took a so-called golden share in United States Steel Corp. as part of a deal to clear its sale to a Japanese rival.
The Intel idea also echoes the Defense Department’s unprecedented announcement last month that it will take a $400 million preferred equity stake in the little-known US rare-earth producer MP Materials Corp. — a deal that would make the Pentagon the company’s largest shareholder. That move turned conventional wisdom on its head among investors, analysts, industry executives and even longtime government officials in terms of how private industry has dealt with the government.
These home-run investment swings by the federal government also aren’t expected to be one-time deals, Bloomberg News has previously reported, with Trump and his administration adamant about boosting domestic champions in sectors it deems critical to combating China on national security grounds.
A chip industry pioneer, Intel has struggled in recent years, hurt by the loss of market share and its technological edge. Tan’s predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, touted the Ohio factory expansion as part of a comeback plan.
But Intel’s financial woes have imperiled the project. Earlier this year, the build-out was delayed until the 2030s, and the company said in July that it would further slow the Ohio plan. Since taking over in March, Tan has focused more on getting Intel’s financial house in order.
Intel was poised to be the biggest beneficiary of money from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, though that program is now in flux under Trump. Earlier this year, administration officials floated the idea of having chip-production powerhouse Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. operate Intel’s factories as part of a joint venture. But TSMC CEO C. C. Wei has said that his company plans to remain focused on its own business.
Trump has won Ohio in all three of his presidential elections, and Republicans flipped a Senate seat there in 2024. Vice President JD Vance served as a senator from the state. Former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is seeking election there again next year, making the state something of a battleground once again, though it has trended steadily toward Republicans.
— With assistance from Brody Ford and Joe Deaux
bloomberg.com
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