Intel isn’t fully private anymore: Donald Trump hands America nearly 10% stake in firm

President Donald Trump has pulled off a stunning intervention in the U.S. tech sector, sealing a deal that hands the federal government a nearly 10% ownership stake in Intel Corp. — a move that breaks with decades of free-market orthodoxy and signals a new era of state-backed industrial policy.

Under the agreement, Washington will receive 433.3 million Intel shares, equal to 9.9% of the company’s stock. The $8.9 billion deal will be funded through outstanding grants from the Chips and Science Act and the Secure Enclave program, Intel confirmed, bringing the government’s total commitment to $11.1 billion.

While Intel stressed that the U.S. will remain a passive investor with no board seat or governance rights, the symbolism is hard to miss: for the first time in modern history, the federal government now holds a significant stake in one of America’s most storied tech companies.

Trump, celebrating the deal on social media, called it “a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL,” adding that building advanced semiconductors “is fundamental to the future of our Nation.” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, once criticized by Trump for his past ties to China, struck a more cautious note: “We are grateful for the confidence the president and the administration have placed in Intel.”

The announcement sent Intel shares up 5.5% to $24.80 in New York trading before slipping slightly after hours. Yet Wall Street remains divided. “Besides money, Intel needs customers,” warned Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon, cautioning that building plants without demand “probably won’t end well for shareholders, of whom the U.S. government would be the largest.”

Supporters argue that the deal is about national security as much as economics. A White House official said the administration views domestic chipmaking as “an extraordinary and unique situation,” given the shortages that crippled supply chains in recent years. Intel is investing more than $100 billion in U.S. facilities, including a new Arizona fab slated to open this year.

The arrangement also underscores Trump’s broader shift toward economic statecraft. Earlier this month, he secured a controversial revenue-sharing deal with Nvidia and AMD on AI chip sales to China, and a “golden share” in United States Steel after its takeover by Nippon Steel. The Pentagon has separately announced equity investments in rare-earths producer MP Materials.

“This is Trump as salesman-in-chief,” said Dan Morgan of Synovus Trust. “The question is whether his pressure actually delivers clients to Intel, or whether taxpayers are left holding the bag.”