The Trump administration is reportedly considering an unprecedented move to take a direct ownership stake in Intel, the struggling American semiconductor giant, in an effort to bolster the company and secure domestic manufacturing of critical technology. News of the potential deal, which emerged on Thursday, August 14, 2025, sent Intel’s shares (INTC) soaring by more than 7%.
According to reports from multiple outlets including CNN and Reuters, citing an initial story by Bloomberg, discussions about the government acquiring a stake in Intel followed a meeting between President Donald Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Monday, August 11. The meeting marked a dramatic reversal from the previous week, when President Trump had publicly called for Tan’s resignation over his past investments in Chinese technology firms. Following their discussion, which Intel described in a statement as “candid and constructive,” President Trump praised Tan’s business acumen, setting the stage for continued talks.
The primary goal of a potential government investment would be to shore up the beleaguered chipmaker, which has lost significant ground to rivals and faced a series of technological and financial setbacks. A key focus of the deal would be to revive Intel’s delayed plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Ohio, a project central to the administration’s push to increase domestic production of semiconductors. The specifics of the deal, including the size of the government’s stake and the price, are reportedly still under discussion.
Intel, once the undisputed leader in the chip industry, has been navigating a turbulent period. The company’s market value has plummeted from a high of $288 billion in 2020 to approximately $104 billion, as reported by Al Jazeera. Its foundry division reported a staggering $18.8 billion loss in 2024, and the company announced plans last month to lay off 15,000 workers. The ambitious Ohio chip complex has also faced significant delays, with its completion timeline pushed back by at least five years to 2030-2031.
While both the White House and Intel have remained tight-lipped about the specifics, their public statements reflect a shared agenda. A White House spokesman told CNN that “discussion about hypothetical deals should be regarded as speculation unless officially announced by the Administration.” An Intel spokesperson declined to comment on rumors but stated the company “is deeply committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts to strengthen U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.”
This potential intervention is not an isolated event. As noted by The Oregonian/OregonLive, the Trump administration has engaged in several unconventional arrangements to protect industries it deems critical to national security. These include taking a “golden share” in U.S. Steel to influence the company following its sale to a Japanese firm and, more recently, striking a deal where chipmakers AMD and Nvidia will pay the government 15% of their revenues from certain semiconductor sales to China in exchange for export licenses. Such actions signal a growing willingness to use the federal government’s financial power to directly influence corporate strategy in key sectors.
If the deal materializes, it would represent one of the most significant government interventions in the private sector in recent memory, analogous to the bailouts of the auto and banking industries during the 2008 financial crisis. For Intel, a cash infusion could provide a much-needed lifeline, but it remains unclear how government ownership would address the company’s underlying technological challenges. For the administration, it would be a bold step toward its goal of reshoring America’s high-tech supply chain.
