Trump admin considers taking a stake in Intel to boost US semiconductor manufacturing prowess

The Trump administration is in discussions with Intel to have the US government secure a stake in the company that would help it rapidly expand its domestic manufacturing plans.

In a new report from Bloomberg, it's being reported that the US government having a stake in Intel would help its plans with its Ohio chipmaking factory hub, with Intel once promising to turn the Ohio site into the world's largest semiconductor facility, but has been experiencing delays.

President Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan met at the White House earlier this week, where President Trump called the meeting a "success" just days after calling for Tan's immediate resignation as the CEO of Intel. The idea with a stake in Intel would see the US government pay for its slice of the company with details being ironed out according to Bloomberg's sources, while another cautioned that the plans remain "fluid".

Intel has declined to comment on the discussions, but in a statement an Intel representative said the company is "deeply committed to supporting President Trump's efforts to strengthen US technology and manufacturing leadership. We look forward to continuing our work with the Trump administration to advance these shared priorities, but we are not going to comment on rumors or speculation".

President Trump has been quite clear about his intentions regarding US manufacturing, and with Intel struggling for years against its competitors like AMD on the CPU side and TSMC on the semiconductor side, a US government stake in the company would help keep it out of trouble, and hopefully on an improved path moving forward into the future.

It was only earlier this year that the Trump administration discussed the idea of having TSMC operate Intel's chip-making fabs as part of a joint venture, but TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said his company had plans to remain focused on its own core businesses, and not run Intel's fabs on US soil.