Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC the U.S. government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grant money promised under Biden.

The global AI chip race narrative used to be about U.S. national security, but apparently now it's about tariffs: Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of the revenue they make from sales of high-end AI chips to China in exchange for licenses to sell those chips in the country,

US policy shifts and sharp rhetoric have turned Nvidia’s chip sales into a flashpoint, fuelling China’s mistrust and push for tech self-reliance

Beijing has reportedly moved to curb sales of Nvidia Corporation's NVDA China-specific AI chip after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made remarks about export policy that Chinese officials reportedly found "insulting.

Lutnick just laughed it off, indignantly pointing out that “we were just giving away the money” under the previous terms of the CHIPS Act. But the legality of any equity stake would likely be challenged by both Intel shareholders and competitors in the industry, according to the Times.

"This is a horrible precedent. This is socialism. All of you people were freaked out about Mamdani in New York City"