The US government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for funding that has already been provided

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the state government should take a stake in Intel in exchange for funding the company received under the CHIPS Act, CNBC reported.

"We should get an equity stake for our money," Lutnick said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street. "So we’ll deliver the money, which was already committed under the Biden administration. We’ll get equity in return for it."

In parallel, Bloomberg writes that the Trump administration is considering the possibility of acquiring 10% of Intel shares. If the government nevertheless implements its intentions, the United States could become the largest shareholder in the semiconductor manufacturer.

Lutnick also said that any potential deal would not give the government a voice or control over the company, but he noted that Donald Trump could consider similar deals with other companies receiving grants under the CHIPS Act.

"It’s not governance, we’re just converting what was a grant under Biden into equity for the Trump administration, for the American people. Nonvoting," Lutnick said.

SoftBank previously announced a $2 billion investment in Intel, which corresponds to about 2% of the company's value and makes the Japanese conglomerate the fifth largest shareholder.

Recall that last year Intel announced that it would receive a grant of $7.9 billion to build new factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. also received a similar grant of $6.6 billion.