U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday confirmed the U.S. government is vying for a 10% stake in Silicon Valley pioneer Intel in an unusual deal that would deepen the Trump administration’s financial ties with major computer chip manufacturers and punctuate a dramatic about-face from the president’s recent push to oust the company’s CEO.

Japanese investment giant SoftBank has announced a substantial US$2bn investment in Intel, the major American semiconductor company. This move marks a significant vote of confidence for Intel, which has faced scrutiny, including pressure from U.S. political figures calling for the resignation of its CEO.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s $2 billion investment in Intel Corp. could be the catalyst the struggling chip maker needs to turn the corner, some analysts believe.

The move could signal SoftBank’s chip ambitions, as the company may be gearing up to build Arm CPU tiles, AI XPUs, and Ampere chips tied to the Stargate Project.

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The move is part of SoftBank's investing initiatives in the US, which also includes commitments towards AI computing. Intel, which has lagged behind in the chip race after being the erstwhile market leader,

SoftBank announced on Tuesday a $2 billion investment in Intel that will add to the Japanese tech investor's ambitious bet on artificial intelligence and the chip industry.