Trump Trade: SoftBank makes Intel investment as Nvidia preps new chip

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:

INTEL STAKE: The Trump administration is in discussions to take a 10% in Intel by converting some or all of the company’s grants from the Chips and Science Act into equity, Mackenzie Hawkins, Ryan Gould and Josh Wingrove of Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Intel is set to receive $10.9B in Chips Act grants for commercial and military production, which is near the amount needed for the 10% stake, Bloomberg reports. The move would make the U.S. government Intel’s largest shareholder.

Later on Monday, SoftBank (SFTBY) and Intel announced that SoftBank will make a $2B investment in Intel common stock. The investment comes as both Intel and SoftBank deepen their commitment to investing in advanced technology and semiconductor innovation in the U.S., they said. Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said: “Semiconductors are the foundation of every industry. For more than 50 years, Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation. This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.” Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, said: “We are very pleased to deepen our relationship with SoftBank, a company that’s at the forefront of so many areas of emerging technology and innovation and shares our commitment to advancing U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership. Masa and I have worked closely together for decades, and I appreciate the confidence he has placed in Intel with this investment.” Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank will pay $23 per share of Intel common stock. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Bernstein says Intel was supposed to get $10.9B of CHIPS Act funding for free. Giving this up for a 10% stake by the U.S. government “seems worse,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that besides money, Intel needs customers, and it is conceivable that as part of the U.S. taking a stake the administration could encourage customers to use the company’s capacity. However, a straight equity-for-cash swap does not seem favorable to Intel, and “funding a build-out with no customers probably won’t end well for shareholders,” contends Bernstein.

NVIDIA CHIP: Nvidia is working on a new AI chip for China based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than the H20 model it is currently allowed to sell there, Reuters’ Liam Mo and Fanny Potkin report, citing two people briefed on the matter. While U.S. President Donald Trump last week opened the door to the possibility of more advanced Nvidia chips being sold in China, the sources say U.S. regulatory approval is far from guaranteed amid fears in Washington about giving China too much access to U.S. artificial intelligence technology.

WINDMILLS ‘KILLING’ NEW JERSEY: President Donald Trump said via Truth Social: “STUPID AND UGLY WINDMILLS ARE KILLING NEW JERSEY. Energy prices up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of state. STOP THE WINDMILLS!” Publicly traded clean tech stocks and renewable developers include AES Corp. (AES) and NextEra Energy (NEE), GE Vernova (GEV), Bloom Energy (BE), Plug Power (PLUG), First Solar (FSLR) and Fluence Energy (FLNC).

‘GOOD MEETING’: President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social: “I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in the White House, which ended in a further meeting in the Oval Office. During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”