Trump administration shocked everyone when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced in August 2026 that the US government had taken a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel. “BIG NEWS: The United States of America now owns 10% of Intel, one of our great American technology companies. This historic agreement strengthens U.S. leadership in semiconductors, which will both grow our economy and help secure America’s technological edge. Thanks to Intel CEO @LipBuTan1 for striking a deal that’s fair to Intel and fair to the American People,” wrote Lutnick in a post on X. In an Interview with Fortune magazine, President Donald Trump has shared the story of his equity strategy in Intel. The grants that the government gave Intel were converted into equity. “[Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan] came in to see me,” Trump recalls. “I liked him, I thought he was good.” Trump also had leverage: substantial federal grants for chipmaking that had been earmarked, but not yet delivered, to Intel. “I said, ‘Give the country 10% ownership for free in Intel,’ ” the president recalls. “He said, ‘You have a deal.’ I said, ‘Shit, I should have asked for more.’”“Intel should be the biggest company in the world right now,” Trump says. “If I had been president when all these companies started sending their chips in from China, I would have put a tariff on that would have protected Intel.” Referring to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), currently the world’s dominant chipmaker, he adds, “Intel would have all that business now, and there would be no Taiwan.”
Donald Trump’s Intel announcement
“The United States paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are now valued at approximately $11 Billion Dollars,” President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “This is a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL.”“They’ve agreed to do it and I think it’s a great deal for them,” Trump had told reporters at the White House
What Intel said on government stake
Intel, the only American company capable of making advanced chips on U.S. soil, said in a press release that the government made an $8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock, purchasing 433.3 million shares at a price of $20.47 per share, giving it a 10% stake in the company. Intel noted that the price the government paid was a discount to the current market price. Intel further said that the U.S. government won’t have a board seat or other governance rights.“As the only semiconductor company that does leading-edge logic R&D and manufacturing in the U.S., Intel is deeply committed to ensuring the world’s most advanced technologies are American made,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the press release.
