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.

Owning the Means of Production The Trump administration’s push for a 10% equity stake in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), leveraging $10.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants — $7.9 billion for domestic investments and $3 billion for defense microelectronics — has ignited debate.

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has said that Intel must give the US government an equity stake if the company wants to receive its CHIPS and Science Act funding.