Chip-making firm Intel has revealed it received $5.7 billion as part of the deal negotiated with the US government to acquire a 10% stake in the company.
Chief finance officer David Zinsner revealed at an investor conference on Thursday that the struggling chip-making firm received the grant on Wednesday night.
Intel CFO confirms receipt of the funds
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last Friday revealed that the US government had taken a 10% stake in Intel, the Trump administration’s latest effort to exert control over corporate America. He added that the agreement would strengthen the US’s leadership in semiconductors.
Zinsner also said the move was an incentive for Intel to retain control of its contract manufacturing business, or foundry.
“This was a quick way to getting, initially, $5.7B in the door,” said Zinsner during a fireside chat at Deutsche Bank’s 2025 Technology Conference in Dana Point, Calif.
As part of the deal, the Trump administration negotiated an additional 5% warrant in the event Intel ceases to own more than 51% of its foundry operation.
“I don’t think there’s a high likelihood that we would take our stake below 50%,” Zinsner said, adding that “so ultimately, I would expect (the warrant) to expire worthless.”
The embattled chip-making firm has previously indicated that it could take outside investment in the foundry business and has established a separate management board to govern it.
In the event that the company does so, Zinsner said Intel was leaning towards a strategic investor versus a financial one, though the company is “years away from that.”
Last month, Intel revealed that the future of its foundry business depended on getting a big customer for its next-generation manufacturing process known as 14A. In the event that it failed to secure one, it could leave the foundry business altogether.
During the Thursday investor conference, Zinsner downplayed the potential risk to its foundry.
“The lawyers are always looking for areas where we should be elaborating in terms of our risks,” he said.
US government says it is still working on the deal
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also on Thursday gave a different picture, suggesting the deal was not yet final as there were areas that were still being “ironed out by the Department of Commerce.”
Leavitt added that the President proposed the deal, and the Commerce Secretary was working on its implementation.
When asked to elaborate, a White House official revealed that the Intel deal, namely a $3 billion Secure Enclave award from the Department of Defense, was not fully implemented.
It was, however, not clear if Leavitt’s sentiments suggested the deal could still be revised in some way.
The $5.7 billion is part of the company’s share of the US CHIPS and Science Act funding. Under the agreement, the US government is buying 433.3 million shares at $20.47 each.
According to Seeking Alpha, Intel had already received $2.2 billion in grants from CHIPS at an earlier date. An additional $3.2 billion will come from the Secure Enclave program through the US Department of Defense, elevating the total investment to $11.1 billion.
Earlier this month, Intel raised $2 billion from SoftBank Group in the form of an equity stake. As part of its restructuring exercise under the leadership Lip-Bu Tan, the company seeks to slash its workforce to 75,000.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/intel-got-5-7bn-grant-us-says-otherwise/
