President Donald Trump met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan at the White House on Thursday, January 8, 2026, to discuss the company's progress on advanced processor technology and the U.S. government's growing investment in the semiconductor giant. The federal government currently holds about 5.5% of Intel's shares, a stake valued at just over $11 billion, with plans to increase ownership to 10% in the coming months.
The government's initial investment, made in August, was worth approximately $5.7 billion. The stake's value has surged following a sharp 70% rise in Intel's stock price since news of the investment first broke. President Trump praised the deal on Truth Social, stating, "We made a great deal, and so did Intel." He later added that the government had made "tens of billions of dollars for the American people" through the investment.
Intel's technological advancements were a key discussion point. CEO Lip-Bu Tan confirmed the company successfully shipped its first sub-2-nanometer 18A chips by the end of 2025, meeting its schedule. The newly launched Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" processors, built on this node, offer significant performance gains. The next major milestone is the 14A process, slated for risk production in 2027.
The government's support is part of a broader push to bolster domestic chip manufacturing and reduce dependency on overseas producers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). This strategic importance has attracted other major investors, including Nvidia and SoftBank Group, which have also acquired large stakes in Intel.
While the current owned stake is valued at $11 billion, the U.S. government holds rights to additional shares that, if fully acquired, could bring the total stake's value to an estimated $27.7 billion. Intel's stock rallied as much as 9% on Friday following Trump's public praise, continuing a six-month uptrend that has doubled the value of the government's holding.
