Intel and US to finalise $8.5 bln in chips funding by year-end: Report

Intel and the U.S. government will likely finalise $8.5 billion in direct funding for the chipmaker before the end of the year, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The discussions were at an advanced stage, but there was no guarantee it will be finalised before 2024 end, the report said, adding that any takeover of all or part of Intel’s business could risk disrupting the talks.

Intel and the U.S. Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

U.S. President Joe Biden awarded Intel nearly $20 billion in grants and loans in March to boost the company’s domestic semiconductor chip output.

The preliminary agreement was for $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans for Intel in Arizona, where some of the funding will be used to build two new factories and modernize an existing one.

Qualcomm has approached Intel to explore a potential acquisition of the troubled chipmaker, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Once the dominant force in chipmaking, Intel ceded its manufacturing edge to rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and failed to produce a widely desired chip for the generative artificial intelligence boom capitalized on by Nvidia and AMD.