(Jan 9): US President Donald Trump met with Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan on Thursday at the White House, where the two men discussed the company’s progress on its new line of processors following the US government’s purchase of shares in the chipmaker.
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump hailed what he called progress at Santa Clara, California-based Intel, whose shares are up more than 70% since plans emerged last year for the federal government to buy as much as 10% of the company. So far, the US has amassed a roughly 5.5% stake, with more set to be acquired.
“I just finished a great meeting with the very successful Intel CEO, Lip-Bu Tan,” Trump wrote. “We made a great deal, and so did Intel. Our country is determined to bring leading edge chip manufacturing back to America, and that is exactly what is happening!!!”
Since taking over as CEO in March, Tan has moved quickly to try to shore up the troubled chipmaker’s business. In addition to the US investment, Nvidia Corp and SoftBank Group Corp have also acquired multibillion-dollar stakes.
Though the dealmaking has lifted Intel’s stock price, the company still needs to show that new products will win back lost market share. Tan said at an industry conference this week that Intel began shipping its first sub-2-nanometer 18A products on schedule at the end of 2025. The company itself continues to rely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co for some chip fabrication.
In his post, Trump said the government had made “Tens of Billions of Dollars for the American People,” though the actual gains for the US from its holdings are less than that so far.
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When purchased in August, the US stake was worth US$5.7 billion ($7.3 billion). As yet, a large portion of the government’s ownership is still contingent on future developments. If taxpayers currently owned all of the shares available in a complicated arrangement, the stake would be worth US$27.7 billion. Currently, public ownership stands at a little over US$11 billion.
Spokespeople for Intel pointed to public filings for the US stake. The White House had no immediate comment.
Uploaded by Isabelle Francis
