SoftBank Targets Top-10 Spot in Intel with Massive $2B Investment

Published: 19 Aug 2025

Author: Precedence Research

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Softbank Group from Japan is set to buy a $2 billion equity stake in leading enterprise Intel, aiming to become one of the top 10 shareholders and offer powerful support to the struggling U.S. chipmaker. This investment is considered a lifeline for Intel for its highly ambitious program to manufacture chips for external consumers. The company has invested billions of dollars in this project under the guidance of its former CEO.

New CEO Lip-Bu-Tan has brought back those expectations as he tries to bring his dedication and energy to make this dream a reality. According to the company, the Japanese investment company will pay $23 per share for the Intel common stock, and Softbank would become the largest investor in Intel, ranking 6th. A primary issuance of common stock by Intel is the source of Softbank's investment. It is based on the U.S. company’s market capitalization at the close of trading. It shows an equity stake of 2%, as revealed by Intel’s spokesperson.

As Intel has struggled financially in 2024, this move shows its perseverance to stay competitive in the global market. Softbank has also acknowledged the strategic importance of Intel, which is the only U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing company, and is ready to invest in leading-edge process R&D, wafer manufacturing, and advanced packaging technologies. According to further reports, the U.S. government may plan to buy a stake in Intel, which would be at least 10%. This news hit the market after a meeting between Donald Trump and Tan, the company CEO, and Trump called for his resignation over his ties to Chinese firms. However, Softbank's decision to invest in Intel is not related to this matter, according to familiar persons involved in this decision.

The Intel funding is recent in the Japanese company’s mammoth investment run in 2025. It includes offering $30 billion to OpenAI and leading financing to Stargate, along with a $500 billion data center project in the U.S.