The US government is in discussions to potentially take a partial ownership stake in Intel, according to an Aug. 18 report by Bloomberg. The deal could help accelerate the construction of Intel’s long-delayed semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio.

The U.S. chipmaker has struggled to keep pace in the AI market alongside competitors like Nvidia. Softbank has agreed to buy Intel common stock at $23 per share.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC the U.S. government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grant money promised under Biden.

Intel is getting a $2 billion investment in common stock from SoftBank, which is betting big on the AI revolution.

Japan’s SoftBank will invest $2 billion into struggling American chipmaker Intel, the two companies announced Monday.

Intel shares have jumped after Japanese technology investment giant Softbank said it is buying a $2bn (£1.5bn) stake in the US computer chip maker. The announcement came just hours after new reports that the Trump administration is in talks to take a stake of around 10% in Intel by converting government grants into shares.

SoftBank's investment will come via a primary issuance of common stock by Intel, and, based on the U.S. company's market capitalisation at close of trading on Monday, represent an equity stake of just under 2%, an Intel spokesperson said.

A US government plan to take a stake in Intel Corp. would give the ailing chipmaker a powerful backer, even if a bigger challenge still lies ahead: finding enough paying customers.