President Donald Trump just pulled off a deal that could reshape America’s tech future.
According to Newsmax, in a stunning move, Trump announced that the U.S. government now holds a 10% stake in Intel, the Santa Clara, California-based chip giant, valued at roughly $11 billion, without spending a dime of taxpayer money.
This story kicked off with tension when Trump called for Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, to step down on August 7 over national security worries tied to Tan’s past investments in Chinese tech firms. Tan, who’d only been at the helm for less than five months, faced intense scrutiny. But a public letter affirming his loyalty to America and a White House meeting with Trump turned the tide, with the president easing off his resignation demand.
Fast forward to last week, when Trump and Tan sat down for a pivotal discussion. That meeting laid the groundwork for an unprecedented agreement, one that Trump proudly touted on Truth Social as a win for both the nation and the company.
“It is my Great Honor to report that the United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL,” Trump declared online. Let’s be real—securing a slice of a company with a market cap over $100 billion, for free, sounds like the kind of deal only Trump could broker. It’s a bold play to keep America competitive in the tech race against China.
The specifics are jaw-dropping: this 10% stake, worth about $11 billion, came from converting government grants promised under the previous Biden administration into equity. A White House official, speaking anonymously, confirmed an official announcement is expected later on Friday. If finalized, Uncle Sam will rank among Intel’s top shareholders—a rare move, though not unheard of, recalling the government’s stake in General Motors during the 2008 recession.
Trump’s motivation here is crystal clear: bolstering domestic chip production to cut reliance on foreign manufacturing. With a trade war and tech rivalry heating up against China, he’s also pressuring other chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices with a 15% commission on their China sales for export licenses. This is about keeping American innovation at home, not outsourcing our future.
“I said, I think it would be good having the United States as your partner,” Trump told reporters on Friday. Well, who wouldn’t want a heavyweight like the U.S. government in their corner? Tan apparently agreed, sealing a partnership that could redefine Intel’s trajectory.
Intel, though, isn’t exactly riding high. The company missed the mobile computing wave after the iPhone’s 2007 debut and has stumbled further amid the AI boom, where rivals like Nvidia and AMD have surged ahead. Losses of nearly $19 billion last year and another $3.7 billion in the first half of this year paint a grim picture.
Under Tan’s leadership, Intel is slashing costs, aiming to shrink its workforce by 25% to around 75,000 by year’s end. Even with $2.2 billion received from the Biden-era CHIPS and Science Act out of a pledged $7.8 billion, construction projects tied to the program are lagging. It’s a company in desperate need of a lifeline—or at least a strategic partner like the U.S. government.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tried to ease concerns, noting the government’s shares are non-voting and won’t interfere in Intel’s operations. “We think America should get the benefit of the bar…” he said in a CNBC interview, though the full context remains unclear. Still, it’s hard to ignore the optics of Washington cozying up to a private firm.
Some analysts are already whispering that this deal might nudge other companies to order more of Intel’s chips, hoping to curry favor with the administration. It’s not a bad theory—when the government’s a major shareholder, business decisions can take on a political tint. But let’s hope this stays about innovation, not backroom deals.
Meanwhile, Japan’s SoftBank Group revealed it’s building a 2% stake in Intel, signaling global interest in the beleaguered chipmaker. With the U.S. government stepping in as a top player, the stakes—pun intended—are getting higher. This could be a turning point, or just another chapter in Intel’s rocky saga.
At the end of the day, Trump’s deal with Intel is a gamble on America’s technological sovereignty. It’s a push against the progressive agenda of global dependency, prioritizing national interests over borderless idealism. While Intel didn’t comment on the agreement, the silence speaks volumes—let’s see if this partnership sparks a comeback or just more headlines.
