About a week ago, President Donald Trump was on Intel"s neck, demanding the resignation of its CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. This demand followed a letter from Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who raised questions about Tan"s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Then just this Tuesday, Trump flip-flopped completely. After a Monday meeting with Tan, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Trump praised the Intel chief as an amazing story of success. Now, a new report from Bloomberg claims that the Trump admin is in talks with Intel to take a direct financial stake in the chipmaker.
According to people familiar with the matter, the plan for a government stake originated in that very meeting between Trump and Tan. A government investment is intended to help shore up the company"s massively delayed factory hub in Ohio, with the United States government paying for its portion of the company.
The size of the potential stake is not yet clear, and the sources note that the plans remain fluid, as the discussions could still end without an agreement.
Intel"s "Silicon Heartland" is its ambitious plan to build two cutting-edge semiconductor factories, or "fabs," in Licking County, near Columbus. The company announced the $28 billion project back in 2022, promising 3,000 Intel jobs and 7,000 construction jobs. Production was supposed to start this year. But the timeline has been pushed back multiple times amid Intel"s own financial problems, and the company now expects the first facility will not be operational until 2030 or 2031.
The project, which received up to $8.5 billion in federal CHIPS Act funding, has been plagued by issues, prompting calls from some Republican senators like Bernie Moreno for a fraud investigation into the constant delays.
When both parties were reached for comments, the official lines were predictably cagey. The White House, via spokesman Kush Desai, cautioned that "Discussion about hypothetical deals should be regarded as speculation unless officially announced by the administration."
For its part, Intel gave a generic statement about "supporting President Trump"s efforts to strengthen US technology and manufacturing leadership" and refused to comment on the rumor. Despite the non-denial denials, Bloomberg says Intel"s shares climbed as much as 8.9% on Thursday, closing in New York with a market value of about $104.4 billion.