Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed discussions between the US and Intel Corp. for the government to take a stake in the chipmaker, casting the plan as a bid to convert Chips and Science Act grants into equity.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed discussions between the US and Intel Corp. for the government to take a stake in the chipmaker, casting the plan as a bid to convert Chips and Science

The move by the U.S. could open the door for similar deals with other chipmakers that received grants under the Chips Act

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday confirmed that the government wants Intel to cough up a 10% equity stake in exchange for nearly $8 billion in CHIPS Act funding approved by the Biden administration.

Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration plans to convert federal funding pledged to Intel under the CHIPS Act into an equity stake.

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.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that the U.S. government must receive an equity stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act funds. The potential deal would convert the grants into equity and wouldn't come with governance rights in Intel,