Intel Corporation's stock (INTC) experienced significant gains driven by two major announcements. The first catalyst was Intel's commitment to match a new federal child investment program, while the second involved a strategic manufacturing partnership with Nvidia for its next-generation GPU.
Intel shares climbed nearly 4% after the company pledged to match the U.S. government's $1,000 contribution under the newly launched "Trump Accounts" program. This tax-advantaged investment initiative provides seed capital for children born between 2025 and 2028, with the government depositing $1,000 into an investment account for each eligible child. Intel confirmed it will match the full $1,000 contribution for children of qualifying U.S. employees, joining other early corporate supporters like SoFi, Charter Communications, and BlackRock.
The program operates under a 530A framework, allowing companies to contribute up to $2,500 per child without the deposits being treated as taxable income for the employee. While Intel's initial pledge covers the federal match, it has not clarified if it will offer additional contributions up to the $2,500 limit. The announcement was viewed by investors as both a workforce-retention strategy and a sign of Intel's alignment with Washington, especially given the federal government's existing 10% stake in Intel following an $8.9 billion investment last year to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Simultaneously, Intel shares jumped in premarket trading following a DigiTimes report that Nvidia plans to collaborate with Intel on portions of its next-generation Feynman graphics processing unit (GPU), scheduled for release in 2028. According to supply chain sources, Nvidia will use Intel's 18A or upcoming 14A manufacturing processes for low-volume production of non-core components, specifically portions of the Feynman GPU's input/output die.
The partnership, which also includes Apple, is designed to help meet U.S. manufacturing requirements while maintaining relationships with primary manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Intel will handle up to 25% of the final packaging for the Feynman chip, with TSMC managing the remaining 75%. The core components will still rely on TSMC's A16 node, representing about 75% of the chip's value.
This collaboration comes as crucial support for Intel, which received a $5 billion investment from Nvidia in December 2025. The company has faced recent strategic challenges, including disappointing quarterly guidance and struggles to keep up with surging demand for AI server chips. The Feynman architecture represents the generation following Nvidia's current Rubin AI GPU and is expected to support advanced HBM4e or HBM5 memory standards for handling trillion-parameter AI models.
