Shares in the chip maker rose following news of SoftBank’s planned investment and a possible stake for the U.S. government.

Softbank owns a majority stake in Arm. Arm-based chips dominate the smartphone market, and they're starting to compete with Intel in PCs and servers as well. Arm doesn't sell chips directly, instead licensing its designs and intellectual property to companies including Apple, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and many others.

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.

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.

SoftBank will invest $2 billion into Intel as the struggling chipmaker pulls back on spending and lays off thousands of workers. In an announcement, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said the investment aligns with the firm’s belief that “advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States.”

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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,