Intel gets $2B lifeline in the form of SoftBank equity investment

Japanese financier to become sixth largest Intel shareholder, LSEG data shows

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Intel is getting a $2 billion capital injection from Soft-Bank Group in a major vote of confidence for the troubled US chipmaker that is in the middle of a turnaround effort.

The equity investment, announced by the two companies on Monday, is a lifeline for the once-iconic US chipmaker which has struggled to compete after years of management blunders that left it with virtually no foothold in the booming artificial intelligence chip industry.

It will make SoftBank a top-10 shareholder of Intel and add to the Japanese tech investor’s ambitious bet on artificial intelligence that includes the $500 billion Stargate US data center project.

“SoftBank’s investment helps, but it is not what is going to move the dial for Intel,” said Amir Anvarzadeh, Japan equity strategist at Asymmetric Advisors.

“It’s more to maintain this very good relationship he has with Trump,” he said, referring to Soft-Bank CEO Masayoshi Son.

The deal follows media reports last week that the US government may buy a stake in Intel, after a meeting between new CEO Lip-Bu Tan and President Donald Trump that was sparked by the President’s demand for Tan’s resignation over his ties to Chinese firms.