President Donald Trump is going all out when it comes to supporting chipmakers. The Trump administration has launched their own “Manhattan Project,” as reports have suggested one of America’s largest chipmakers could be partly nationalized.
Trump has taken a hands-on approach to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry amid growing global competition. He brokered a groundbreaking deal with Nvidia and AMD, allowing controlled exports of advanced AI chips to China in exchange for a 15% revenue share, balancing economic interests with national security. Trump has also championed a massive $500 billion investment initiative aimed at boosting domestic chip manufacturing and AI infrastructure, partnering with leading companies including Intel, Nvidia, and AMD.
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Intel, the largest chip fabricator in the U.S., has been in talks with Trump over a potential government stake in the company amid national security concerns that America relies too heavily on manufacturers in Taiwan.
“This feels like the Manhattan Project – or the run-up to World War II,” MIT AI Computer Scientist Dave Blundin said on a podcast with MIT engineer Peter Diamandis.
Intel’s advanced abilities to manufacture semiconductors would allow the U.S. to give up its reliance on foreign fabrication plants, especially in Taiwan which controls more than 60% of the market, in order to power artificial intelligence, defense and the economy.
The talks remain ongoing and finer details continue to be made clear, but the idea would be that the U.S. government would pay for the stake in the company, one person close to the matter told Bloomberg.
By orchestrating controlled exports of advanced AI chips to China with a revenue-sharing framework, Trump balances protecting national security interests while maintaining influence in critical global markets. His ambitious $500 billion investment plan, often compared to a modern-day Manhattan Project, signals a deep commitment to reducing U.S. reliance on foreign chip manufacturing, especially Taiwan, which currently dominates the market. The potential partial nationalization of Intel underscores the seriousness with which the administration views semiconductor self-sufficiency as vital to economic competitiveness, defense readiness, and technological leadership.