Intel, with the U.S. government now holding a 10% stake, announced it will match the Trump administration's $1,000 contribution to children of eligible employees through the new 530A program. The move signals the chipmaker's increasingly close relationship with Washington after securing an $8.9 billion federal investment last year, making the government its largest shareholder. Intel joins a growing roster of companies including BlackRock, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab in doubling down on the so-called "Trump Accounts" program.
Intel just deepened its Washington ties in an unexpected way. The chipmaker announced Tuesday it will match the Trump administration's $1,000 contribution to children of eligible U.S. employees through the new 530A program, colloquially dubbed "Trump Accounts." It's the latest sign of Intel's increasingly cozy relationship with the federal government, which now happens to be the company's biggest investor.
The timing isn't coincidental. Intel secured an $8.9 billion federal investment last year, handing the U.S. government a 10% stake in the struggling chipmaker. That cash infusion came as Intel scrambled to stay competitive in a semiconductor race dominated by Nvidia and TSMC. Now Intel's matching government money for employee kids, a benefit that doubles the federal seed funding and sends a clear signal about where the company's loyalties lie.
"America's future technologists will define the next era of innovation, and the Trump Accounts program helps give them an early financial foundation," Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in Tuesday's statement. The rhetoric aligns perfectly with the administration's push to rebuild domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
