Intel shares more than quadruple under CEO Tan after government intervention
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was in Washington last summer seeking to persuade the Trump administration to drop plans for 100% tariffs on semiconductor imports, according to the Wall Street Journal. During those meetings, President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Cook to use Intel’s manufacturing plants for some of Apple’s chips, the Journal reported, citing government officials.
The U.S. government later that month converted $9 billion in federal grants into a 10% ownership stake in Intel, making it the company’s largest shareholder. Months afterward, Trump announced on Truth Social that Apple would begin using Intel-made chips for some of its products, and Apple plans to have Intel make chips for both Mac laptops and iPhones, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the negotiations.
Intel shares have more than quadrupled since Lip-Bu Tan became CEO in March 2025, the Journal reported. Tan promised to cut spending, reinvigorate product lines, and attract customers to the company’s contract manufacturing business. The Journal reported that the administration’s patronage was the more crucial factor in the company’s resurgence.
The administration pressed major potential customers including Apple, Nvidia, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to work with Intel, according to the Journal. Nvidia announced it would invest $5 billion in Intel and buy its custom data center chips.
Tan has been visiting Washington about once a month to meet with Commerce Department officials, according to Intel and U.S. government officials cited by the Journal. He also speaks regularly by phone with Lutnick, updating him on customer relationships and business conditions. Bill Frauenhofer, the administration’s chips czar, receives a quarterly briefing from Intel CFO David Zinsner, the Journal reported.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., publicly criticized Tan as being compromised by close ties to China last summer, according to the Journal. Trump called for Tan to resign in a social media post in early August. Tan met with Trump at the Oval Office to persuade him he was not a Chinese spy, which the Journal described as a charm offensive that worked. Trump proposed a government stake after the meeting, the Journal reported. “Intel has been left behind,” Trump said at the time, vowing to help the company recover.
The Journal described the administration’s involvement as a striking example of state capitalism and said officials took a hands-on approach, twisting the arms of potential customers and partners. “From a technology perspective, it really seems like Intel is gaining credibility and confidence,” Jacob Feldgoise, a senior research analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, told the Journal. “With each new customer commitment and each new fabrication process they unveil, the signs are looking better and better.”