Intel will receive a $2 billion equity injection from Japan’s SoftBank Group, giving the struggling U.S. chipmaker a fresh boost as it pushes through a turnaround and looks to regain ground in the artificial intelligence sector.
The deal, announced Monday, will make SoftBank one of Intel’s top-10 shareholders with a stake of just under 2%, according to an Intel spokesperson. SoftBank will pay $23 per share in the primary issuance of common stock, which based on Intel’s market capitalization at Monday’s close, positions the Japanese investor as Intel’s sixth-largest shareholder, LSEG data showed.
“This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role,” SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement.
The investment follows media reports that the U.S. government may take a 10% stake in Intel after a meeting between new CEO Lip-Bu Tan and President Donald Trump, though a source familiar with the matter said SoftBank’s decision was unrelated. The White House did not immediately comment.
Intel, once the dominant U.S. chipmaker, has faced years of setbacks, including losing ground in AI processors, and posted an $18.8 billion annual loss in 2024 — its first since 1986. Shares of Intel surged 5.6% in after-hours trading following the announcement, while SoftBank fell more than 5% in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The Japanese tech conglomerate will not seek a board seat or commit to buying Intel chips as part of the deal, a person familiar with the transaction said.
The funding marks the latest in a string of multibillion-dollar commitments by SoftBank in 2025, including $30 billion for ChatGPT maker OpenAI and leading financing for the $500 billion Stargate U.S. data center project. On Monday, Taiwan’s Foxconn also said it would manufacture data center equipment with SoftBank in Ohio as part of Stargate.