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U.S. government takes 10% stake in Intel

(www.cnbc.com)
607 points givemeethekeys | 5 comments | 22 Aug 25 21:01 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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russellbeattie ◴[22 Aug 25 21:25 UTC] No.44990002[source]▶
> "The United States paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are now valued at approximately $11 Billion Dollars,” President Trump wrote"

This wasn't any sort of investment, it was blackmail. No corporation in the country would voluntarily give up 10% of the company to the federal government - for free - unless overtly threatened. The Trump administration is hoping that by exerting control over Intel, it can begin dictating conditions to Intel's customers, thus the tech community at large.

I also assume that one of Trump's cronies will take a spot on the board or some other oversight role, and in the near future, Intel will enrich Trump in one way or another, such as stock, investments, insider information, etc.

Nothing about this is good for the U.S. or Intel. It's not a bailout or a sign of support, but a way for Trump to have power over the tech sector.

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1. ocdtrekkie ◴[22 Aug 25 21:41 UTC] No.44990183[source]▶
Arguably the alternative was the government just... not giving them the CHIPS Act money. (And there's certainly a point to be made that Trump altering the deal is... problematic.)

But I will say, I find the concept that when we invest public dollars in a private company, the public retains a stake appealing. I think about the strategic oil reserve, and how the government actually can make money by buying and selling oil to the open market. The idea that if we inject money into a company to help our domestic industries, that the government can sell it's stake back out at a later time is appealing.

(And again, to be clear, not a Republican or a Trumper here, and I assume in Trump fashion he will find some way to screw everyone involved and get paid himself personally... but the concept of the government acquiring a stake rather than just giving them a grant is on it's face... maybe not terrible?)

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2. russellbeattie ◴[22 Aug 25 21:44 UTC] No.44990216[source]▶
We haven't invested any public dollars into Intel, we just took 10% of it.
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3. BeetleB ◴[22 Aug 25 22:24 UTC] No.44990625[source]▶
The US government is paying about $9B to Intel for this (on top of the $2B already paid).
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4. russellbeattie ◴[24 Aug 25 02:23 UTC] No.45000761{3}[source]▶
> "About $7.8 billion had been been pledged to Intel under the incentives program, but only $2.2 billion had been funded so far. Another $3.2 billion of the government investment is coming through the funds from another program called “Secure Enclave.”"

The funds were already going to Intel. Trump just decided to demand 10% of the company for the already earmarked incentive programs. It was pure extortion.

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5. BeetleB ◴[24 Aug 25 15:08 UTC] No.45004797{4}[source]▶
> The funds were already going to Intel.

That's not a given - even under Biden: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44993388