Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC the U.S. government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grant money promised under Biden.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel and other chipmakers in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act, which aims to spur factory-building in the U.

Intel stock was down 3.9% after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration could convert Chips Act grants into a 10% equity stake in Intel.

The Trump administration is aiming to take an equity stake in Intel, according to US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. Experts say the unconventional deal could backfire.

Micron, TSMC, and more have also been awarded billions in subisidies The US government is considering taking a stake in Intel and other semiconductor companies that benefit from CHIPS Act funding, according to officials from the Trump administration.

Lutnick just laughed it off, indignantly pointing out that “we were just giving away the money” under the previous terms of the CHIPS Act. But the legality of any equity stake would likely be challenged by both Intel shareholders and competitors in the industry, according to the Times.

U.S. President Donald Trump is injecting nearly $9 billion into Intel in exchange for a 9.9% equity stake. But the money - which the struggling chipmaker was slated to receive anyway under a federal funding act - will not be enough for its contract-chipmaking business to flourish,