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The US government has begun discussions to buy a stake in US multinational tech company and major chipmaker Intel, in an effort to expand the nation’s chip manufacturing capabilities.
According to Bloomberg, the government has already initiated discussions regarding the purchase of a stake in Intel, after the company’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, met with the Trump administration.
Tan’s meeting followed a number of critiques from the administration, including US President Donald Trump demanding he resign, citing perceived conflicts of interest, despite not providing a reason.
Prior to this, Republican Senator Tom Cotton had reached out to Intel for answers about alleged ties between Tan and China, in a similar way to his questioning of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is Singaporean, early last year.
In July, Tan also said that Intel was slowing down its development of chips in Ohio, where the US is looking to establish chip factories, citing that the spending would be heavily criticised. Planned operations in Germany and Poland have also been cancelled.
The meeting between Tan and the US government is what led to discussions about the US government acquiring a stake in Intel, according to the Bloomberg report.
Intel declined to comment on the discussions, but a company spokesperson said that Intel is dedicated to working with the US President on developing local manufacturing and evolving the nation into a chip manufacturing leader.
“Intel is deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts to strengthen US technology and manufacturing leadership,” an Intel spokesperson said in a statement seen by TechCrunch.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the Trump administration to advance these shared priorities, but we are not going to comment on rumours or speculation.”
If the deal were to go ahead, the Intel stake would help the government with funding its yet-to-be-built chip factories in Ohio.
While other chip manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC already have US factories, Intel is the only US company capable of developing fast chips on US soil, which is a priority for the Trump administration as it looks to establish the country as an AI leader.
Following news that the discussions had begun, Intel shares rose 7 per cent. Following a 60 per cent fall last year, the share price has increased 19 per cent in total.
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