The US government has finalized terms giving it a roughly 10 percent passive equity stake in Intel, after investing $8.9 billion in the chipmaker during 2026, according to Data Center Dynamics. The stake, composed of $5.7 billion from CHIPS Act funding and $3.2 billion from the Secure Enclave program, marks one of the most direct interventions Washington has made in a private semiconductor company, and it comes alongside a separate milestone: Intel disclosed on July 21, 2026 that Fortinet had signed on as its first publicly named foundry customer for security chips built on the Intel 4 manufacturing process.
How the government became a shareholder
The equity stake originated from the CHIPS and Science Act, the federal program designed to rebuild domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity after years of chip shortages exposed how dependent the US had become on overseas fabrication, particularly in Taiwan. Rather than structuring its support purely as grants, the government converted a portion of its CHIPS Act funding and Secure Enclave defense-related investment into equity, giving taxpayers a direct financial stake in whether Intel’s turnaround succeeds. The arrangement includes a notable clause: if Intel’s ownership of its own foundry business ever falls below 51 percent, the government has the right to take an additional 5 percent stake, a provision clearly designed to discourage Intel from spinning off or selling down its manufacturing arm.
Why Fortinet’s endorsement matters
Intel’s foundry business, which manufactures chips designed by outside companies rather than only its own products, has struggled for years to attract major outside customers willing to bet on Intel’s manufacturing process over more established rivals like TSMC. Fortinet’s decision to use Intel’s 4-nanometer-class process for its security chips gives Intel its first named, public reference customer, a credibility marker the company has needed as it tries to convince other potential clients that its foundry technology is production-ready at scale.
The bigger prize: Apple and Google talks
Beyond Fortinet, Intel is reportedly in discussions with both Apple and Google about potential future foundry work, according to CNBC’s reporting. Landing either company as a customer would represent a far larger validation of Intel’s manufacturing turnaround than Fortinet alone, given the scale of chip volumes both companies require for their own product lines. No deals with Apple or Google have been finalized, and industry watchers caution that large technology companies typically move slowly and cautiously before committing to a new foundry partner given how costly it is to redesign chips for a different manufacturing process.
Political and market reaction is mixed
The government’s equity stake has drawn a range of reactions. Some free-market advocates have criticized the arrangement as an unusual degree of state involvement in a private company, warning it sets a precedent for the government using industrial policy funding to take ownership positions rather than simply providing grants or loans. Supporters counter that semiconductor manufacturing has become a genuine national security priority, comparable to energy or defense infrastructure, and that a government stake ensures Intel cannot easily be acquired by foreign interests or abandon its US manufacturing commitments without consequence.
What Intel gains and risks
For Intel, the $8.9 billion capital infusion provides crucial funding at a moment when the company has spent heavily modernizing its factories after a series of execution setbacks under previous leadership. The trade-off is a government shareholder with specific conditions attached to how Intel manages its foundry ownership, limiting the company’s flexibility to restructure that business even if a future deal, such as a partial sale or spin-off, might otherwise make financial sense.
What to watch next
The real test of Intel’s foundry ambitions will be whether Fortinet’s commitment is followed by additional named customers, particularly Apple or Google, in the coming quarters. Each new customer announcement will serve as a barometer for whether Intel’s expensive manufacturing turnaround, now backed directly by federal capital, is translating into the kind of external demand needed to make the foundry business viable on its own economic terms rather than depending indefinitely on government support.
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