Intel’s stock surged sharply today following reports that the Trump administration is weighing a direct investment in the chipmaker to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Bloomberg sources indicate that the U.S. government may consider purchasing a stake in Intel, with funds potentially going toward the company’s long-delayed Ohio fabrication hub-an ambitious project Intel hopes will become the largest chip-making facility in the world.
The talks remain preliminary, and there’s no certainty the deal will happen. The idea reportedly surfaced during a White House meeting earlier this week between Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and President Trump. In a surprising reversal, Trump shifted from previously calling Tan a national security concern and pushing for his resignation to praising his achievements as an “amazing story.”
Tan’s turnaround strategy aims to reclaim market share through faster process technology development, with Intel only advancing to its upcoming 14A node once it secures firm customer commitments. Meanwhile, Intel is working to revitalize its x86 platform via Panther Lake and Nova Lake CPUs, as well as Granite Rapids GPUs, with planned support for Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT).
Cost-cutting measures remain aggressive: Intel will reduce its workforce by 15% from its 99,500-strong headcount as of the end of 2024-following similar cuts in 2023 and 2024-and will shutter plants in Germany and Poland. Despite the restructuring, investors appear optimistic: Intel shares ended regular trading up over 7%, with after-hours gains adding another 2%.