Bessent spoke on CNBC about turning Intel’s CHIPS Act grants into a U.S. government stake in the company
In sum – what to know:
Taking a stake: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the U.S. government is considering converting billions of dollars of grants to Intel, into an ownership stake in the chip maker.
Billions at stake: Intel was awarded nearly $8 billion in federal funding under the CHIPS Act to bolster domestic chip manufacturing, plus government contracts.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the Trump administration is considering converting billions of dollars in federal funding for Intel, which was awarded under the Biden administration, into an ownership investment stake in the chip maker.
The move to buy an Intel stake continues the Trump administration’s upending of traditional U.S. economic policy when it comes to relationships with important U.S. industries and individual companies. It has taken a “golden share” stake in U.S. Steel, struck deals with Nvidia and AMD for the government to take 15% of revenues from AI chips sold to China in exchange for allowing export licenses, and now, is looking to own part of Intel.
Bessent framed those U.S. actions, such as the revenue-shares from AI chip sales to China, as being part of security policy. The Covid-19 pandemic, he continued, was a period which tested U.S.’ companies’ ability to be cut off from key suppliers around the world: Chips, pharmaceuticals, steel and so on. The U.S., he said, needs to both become self-sufficient and to counter the tech influence of Chinese vendors like Huawei.
“The last thing we want is a Huawei ‘Belt and Road‘ where Huawei is selling chips to the rest of the world, and U.S. technology is excluded,” Bessent said. Belt and Road refers to China’s massive infrastructure investment initiative in countries around the world, meant to increase the country’s economic and political influence.
According to published reports, the Trump administration is considering a 10% Intel stake. The chip company’s stock has risen in recent days as speculation has ramped up about the likelihood of such a deal — or other external cash infusions. Craig Barrett, a former Intel CEO and chairman, has suggested that Intel’s largest customers should pay in $5 billion apiece to guarantee chip pricing and supply; Japanese company Softbank, meanwhile, has announced that it will buy a $2 billion stake in Intel.
Bessent, when asked about the potential arrangement with the U.S. government for an Intel stake, said that “The stake would be a conversion of the grants and maybe increase the investment into Intel to help stabilize the company for chip production here in the U.S.”
Bessent is presumably referring to the billions of dollars of grants and tax incentives that the U.S. government awarded to Intel under the CHIPS Act. Intel said in November of 2024 that the U.S. government had awarded it nearly $8 billion in funding under the CHIPS Act, which was aimed at boosting the domestic semiconductor industry via government grants and incentives. That $7.86 billion was in addition to a $3 billion contract for Intel to manufacture chips for the U.S. government.
Bessent said that the U.S. government would not then try to force companies doing business in the U.S. to buy Intel chips, after acquiring a stake in the company. “The last thing we’re going to do is put pressure … take a stake and then try to drum up business,” he said.
“There are industries that we have to on-shore,” Bessent told CNBC, and added: “The single point of failure for the global economy is that 99% of the advanced chips in the world are made in Taiwan, and for national security, we have to stop that single point of failure.”
Watch Bessent’s interview here.
