US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Friday that the U.S. government has invested $8.9 billion to acquire 10% of Intel's shares, becoming the company's latest major shareholder. After the news was announced, Intel's stock price once rose by about 6% in Friday's trading.
BIG NEWS: The United States of America now owns 10% of Intel, one of our great American technology companies.
This historic agreement strengths U.S. leadership in semiconductors, which will both grow our economy and help secure America’s technical edge.
Thanks to Intel… pic.twitter.com/AYMuX14Rgi
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) August 22, 2025
According to Intel's press release, the U.S. government purchased 433.3 billion shares of common shares at a price of US$20.47 per share, accounting for 10% of the total shareholding, and the transaction price is lower than the market price. President Trump emphasized on Truth Social that the government actually "didn't spend a penny" because the fund comes from the approved CHIPS Act subsidy and secure chip planning grants, and it is said that the current value of the shares is $1.1 billion.
Of these, $5.7 billion comes from the unpaid subsidy of the Chip Act, and another $3.2 billion comes from government plans to ensure safe chips. Intel pointed out that the U.S. government will not acquire a board seat or have other governance rights. However, the US also obtains additional rights. If Intel loses its controlling position in the crystal foundry industry in the future, the government can purchase up to 5% of its shares.
Intel executive director Chen Liwu said in a press release: "As the only semiconductor company in the United States that conducts advanced logical research and development and manufacturing at the same time, Intel is committed to ensuring that the world's most advanced technology is manufactured by the United States."
Trump told the media earlier Friday: "They agreed. I think this is a great deal for them." A Baigong official revealed that Trump and Chen Liwu will meet that afternoon, and Rutnik posted a photo with Chen Liwu on social media.
This transaction highlights the transformation of U.S. industry policies. Lutnik bluntly stated on the CNBC program that the government should use funds to exchange shares, and this investment continued the assistance that the Biden administration had promised during the period.
Intel also recently received US$2 billion in investment from the silver, accounting for about 2% of the shares. The market generally believes that Intel is still behind TECHNOLOG in processing technology, which is the foundry chips of the world's leading technology companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and AMD.
Currently, Intel is investing billions of dollars in building a crystal plant in Ohio, with the goal of mass-producing advanced chips for AI, but due to market conditions, the factory will not be launched until 2030. Last fall, the company had determined to receive nearly $8 billion in the Chip and Science Act subsidy to support factory construction.
U.S. government takes 10% stake in Intel, as Trump expands control over private sector