Analysis: The Trump administration is exploring the use of "shareholding" to support key enterprises, with Intel as a typical case BlockBeats News: On May 18th, the Trump administration is forming a new model of corporate support: no longer relying solely on traditional bailout, subsidies, or tax incentives, but directly holding equity in key American companies, especially focusing on industries related to national security such as semiconductors, key minerals, and nuclear energy. According to reports, the Trump administration has repeatedly adopted equity investment methods for American companies in the past two years. The Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick camps believe that this could not only help struggling American companies, but could also bring long-term returns similar to venture capital to the US Treasury. Among them, Intel is considered the most typical case. In August 2025, the Trump administration reached a special agreement with Intel to acquire approximately 9.9% of the company's shares, worth around $10 billion. At that time, Intel was facing a decline in market share and high debt pressure. In an interview with Alyson Shontell, the editor in chief of Fortune, Trump stated that Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan personally went to the White House to meet with him and "I like him, I think he's excellent." The report pointed out that the Trump administration also had leverage at the time, including the chip bill subsidy funds that had not yet been disbursed. Since the transaction, Intel's stock price has significantly increased. However, Fortune also mentioned that this model is controversial. Supporters believe that if the US government can achieve high returns like top VC firms, it may even alleviate fiscal deficits in the future; Opponents are concerned that direct government shareholding may weaken free market principles and open up space for future administrative intervention in corporate governance. In addition, the article also mentioned that the continued growth of capital expenditures by American tech giants on AI infrastructure is one of the important reasons why the US stock market remains strong in the context of the Iran War and high oil prices. [Original link]