The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the Trump administration is working on a deal that could see the US government taking a 10% stake in chip giant Intel. "The president wants to put America's needs first, both from a national security and economic perspective," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel, even as the White House is considering taking a 10% stake in chipmaker per reports, as talks with the company and Trump's team advance.

The White House on Tuesday said it was “ironing out the details” of a deal that would entail the US government taking a 10 per cent stake in struggling US chipmaker Intel.