On 18/8, SoftBank and Intel jointly announced that the Japanese company had signed an agreement to invest $2 billion in the American chipmaker. SoftBank will pay $23 for each share of Intel common stock.
This price matches the closing price of Intel's stock at the beginning of the week. Following the announcement, Intel's stock rose an additional 6% in after-hours trading.
This investment will make SoftBank Intel's fifth-largest shareholder, according to FactSet. "SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and I have worked together for decades. I appreciate his confidence in Intel through this investment," said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
SoftBank has recently increased its investment in the global chip and AI market. They acquired chipmaker Arm and are looking to acquire Ampere Computing. The Japanese telecom giant is also involved in a plan to invest $500 billion in US artificial intelligence infrastructure, in partnership with Oracle and OpenAI.
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Intel's motherboard at Computex (Taiwan, China) in June 2024. Photo: Reuters |
Intel's motherboard at Computex (Taiwan, China) in June 2024. Photo: Reuters
A few days ago, US media reported that President Donald Trump's administration was also in talks to buy a stake in Intel. On 18/8, Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, revealed that the White House could hold a 10% stake in the company through the conversion of some CHIPS Act funding into equity.
While competitors like TSMC and Samsung have factories in the US, Intel is currently the only American company capable of producing the fastest chips domestically. President Trump has been calling for increased domestic production of chips and high-tech products. Selling shares to the government would provide Intel with capital for its factories under construction in Ohio.
Earlier last week, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan visited the White House to meet with Trump, after the president called for his resignation due to alleged ties to China. At the time, Intel affirmed Tan's "commitment to strongly advancing US national security and economic interests." After the meeting, Trump described their conversation as "very productive" and called Tan's "success and rise an incredible story."
Tan took office earlier this year after the American chipmaker failed to gain significant market share in the AI chip sector. Intel has invested heavily in developing its foundry business — manufacturing chips for other companies. However, so far, the company has not secured any major clients. This is a key issue for scaling up and building trust with other potential customers.
In July, Tan announced that Intel had canceled production plans in Germany and Poland. They also slowed construction in Ohio, and the company's spending is being closely monitored. Last month, Intel announced that its plan to lay off 15% of its workforce was nearly complete.
Ha Thu (according to Reuters, CNBC)
