Overview

• Early-stage talks between the White House and Intel explore an equity investment financed by roughly $11 billion in CHIPS Act allocations.
• It remains undefined whether any stake would supplement or replace existing federal subsidies for the struggling chipmaker.
• Intel continues to grapple with slowed Ohio fabrication-site construction, waning demand for legacy chips, workforce cuts and a credit rating downgrade.
• The proposal reflects the administration’s recent pattern of direct interventions, from revenue-sharing pacts with Nvidia and AMD in China to defense investment in MP Materials and a golden-share deal in the US Steel transaction.
• Analysts say President Trump’s approach resembles that of an activist investor and expect he may demand governance rights or concessions from Intel in exchange for support.