Intel is in talks with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price, CNBC reported on Wednesday, just days after the struggling chipmaker got a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group.
The new funding would be another financial lifeline for Intel, as billions of dollars in investment to expand its contract manufacturing business, which is struggling to compete with Taiwan’s TSMC, has strained its balance sheet.
The CNBC report, which cited people familiar with the matter, did not name the potential investors. Intel, whose shares fell 7 per cent, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
This could be the second capital injection at a discounted price after SoftBank’s investment at $23 per Intel share for a stake of just under 2 per cent.
The company’s shares had risen nearly 7 per cent on Tuesday on SoftBank’s investment plan and had last week gained more than 23 per cent on reports of the U.S. government taking a stake.
On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government wants an equity stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grants approved by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Intel, which had secured about $8 billion in subsidies to build factories – the largest outlay under the 2022 CHIPS Act- has significantly pared back manufacturing ambitions under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Years of management missteps has left the company with virtually no foothold in the booming artificial intelligence chip industry dominated by Nvidia.
Of late, Intel has been on shaky ground with Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump meeting Tan last week, after seeking his resignation over “highly conflicted” ties to Chinese firms.
Intel’s last fiscal year of positive adjusted free cash flow was 2021 and it recorded an annual loss of $18.8 billion in 2024, its first such loss since 1986.
