Introduction

The U.S. government is now a major shareholder in the American tech industry.

If you haven’t been paying close attention, you might have missed it. But over the past year, the federal government has quietly become a part-owner of some of the most important technology companies in the country. It started with Intel. Then came quantum computing startups. And in late July 2026, the Commerce Department added another seven semiconductor companies to its growing portfolio.

The total number now stands at 30 companies, according to a tally from the libertarian Cato Institute. And while the practice has drawn criticism from both conservatives and liberals, the Trump administration has made clear it’s not stopping.

What’s happening? The CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022, was designed to hand out grants to semiconductor manufacturers. But the current administration has turned it into something else: a “government as investor” model where taxpayers get equity stakes in exchange for federal funding.

The Intel Deal: A Template for Government Ownership

The shift started in August 2025, when Intel agreed to give the U.S. government a roughly 10% stake in the company in exchange for $8.9 billion in federal subsidies.

Under the agreement, the government received 433.3 million shares of common stock. The deal was funded partially by CHIPS Act grants and partially by a separate Defense Department program. President Trump announced the deal on Truth Social with characteristic flair: “The United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL.”

The government’s stake is passive. Intel emphasized that the government gets “no board representation or other governance or information rights.” But Trump described it differently, saying, “I think it would be good having the United States as your partner.”

Has it been a good deal for taxpayers? On paper, yes. The 433.3 million shares the government acquired for $8.9 billion are now worth significantly more—at one point approaching $44 billion on the open market. That’s a massive paper profit.

But critics worry about the precedent. Independent tech analyst Rob Enderle called it “a slippery slope” and “a step toward nationalizing private business.” Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute said it would be “bad for Intel’s long-term viability, as politics, not commercial considerations, increasingly drive its decisions.”

The $874 Million Expansion: 7 More Companies, 7 More Stakes

On July 29, 2026, the Commerce Department signed letters of intent with seven companies to provide up to $874 million in federal incentives—all in exchange for minority, non-controlling equity stakes.

The awards are specifically for research and development, targeting the bottlenecks that are slowing down AI progress:

• **GlobalFoundries – Up to $300 million for co-packaged optics.** Using light instead of electricity to move data between chips. The Commerce Department believes this investment could advance U.S. leadership in AI infrastructure by two to three years. GlobalFoundries already received a separate $375 million award in May 2026 for quantum-related work.
• Kepler Computing – Up to $245 million for ferroelectric memory. A new class of AI memory that allows certain operations to happen directly on the memory chip, reducing data movement and improving performance.
• Multibeam Corporation – Up to $140 million for advanced packaging. Technology that assembles and stacks multiple chips with thousands of interconnections—crucial for next-generation chip designs.
• Extropic – $75 million for thermodynamic computing. Using natural thermal fluctuations to solve complex problems with less energy.
• Thintronics – $50 million for ultra-low-loss dielectric materials for next-generation interconnects.
• OBSIDIA Semiconductors – $34 million for counterfeit detection to secure AI supply chains.
• Aeluma – $30 million for substrate technology for photodetectors and lasers used in AI optical interconnects.

In total, the government now has investments in 30 companies across semiconductors, quantum computing, steel, nuclear energy, and rare earth minerals. The administration has described its ambition as both turning a profit and supporting strategic industries.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed the new investments as a matter of national security: “These strategic investments will enhance our country’s domestic capabilities, create high-paying jobs and keep America at the forefront of the semiconductor industry.”

The New White House Strategy: Four Priorities for U.S. Tech

The new equity model isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s part of a broader shift in how the U.S. government thinks about technology.

In August 2026, the White House released the National Security Science and Technology Strategy (NSSTS) —the first document of its kind since 1995. The 24-page strategy organizes the U.S. approach around four pillars:

1. Focused – Directing technology competition toward areas where the U.S. has advantages
2. Resilient – Reducing vulnerabilities in critical supply chains
3. Agile – Accelerating innovation by removing regulatory hurdles
4. Secure – Preventing foreign exploitation of U.S. intellectual property

What’s at the Top of the List

The strategy establishes a clear hierarchy of priorities. At the very top are three areas where the U.S. needs “clear technological superiority” :

• Undersea superiority – submarines and anti-submarine warfare
• Space – from low Earth orbit to the area around the Moon
• Artificial intelligence and autonomy – here, the strategy calls for “competitive advantage” rather than decisive superiority, reflecting how fast the AI race is moving

Supporting these are “other critical areas” : airpower (stealth, electronic warfare, and air defense), long-range strike, and C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance).

And below those are the “key enabling technologies” : advanced manufacturing, hypersonics, nuclear energy, and semiconductors—the same technologies the CHIPS Act is funding.

A Shift on Talent

One notable change from the previous National Security Strategy: The new strategy says the U.S. “will further strengthen its workforce by attracting and retaining top-tier global talent in critical national security S&T fields.” This is a departure from the previous administration’s suggestion that global talent “undercuts American workers.”

What Comes Next: Quantum Technology

Congress is already thinking about what comes after semiconductors. In late August 2026, Congressman Nick Langworthy introduced the American Quantum Competitiveness Act, legislation designed to strengthen America’s position in quantum technology.

The bill would:

• Establish the Commerce Department as the federal lead for commercial quantum technology
• Develop a national strategy focused on manufacturing, investment, commercialization, and trusted domestic supply chains
• Support moving quantum technologies from research into real-world applications

The legislation is supported by IBM, Microsoft, and Google, as well as leading research institutions. The Quantum Industry Coalition said the bill “will help strengthen U.S. commercial quantum policy, enhance the development of trusted, resilient quantum supply chains, and develop a national quantum competitiveness strategy.”

Langworthy framed it as a matter of national security: “America cannot afford to wait until the next generation of technology has already been developed overseas before we decide we want to compete.”

The Debate: Is Government Ownership a Good Thing?

Not everyone is comfortable with the new model. Even the libertarian Cato Institute, which generally supports free markets, has raised concerns.

Cato policy scholar Tad DeHaven noted that the government’s ownership of companies has become worrisomely “routine.” He doesn’t buy the administration’s argument that the program is solely about national security. Rather, he wrote, “The Trump administration’s ‘strategic stakes’ policy is a deliberate attempt to shape corporate behavior and obtain leverage under the guise of bolstering domestic capacity.”

A CNBC survey from last month found that 49% of U.S. voters consider it inappropriate for the government to own pieces of U.S. companies. Only 19% thought it was acceptable.

But supporters point to the returns. The Intel stake alone has generated billions in paper profits. And the administration argues that government ownership ensures taxpayer money isn’t wasted.

What This Means for the Future

What’s emerging is a new model of American industrial policy—one where the government isn’t just funding research but actively investing in the companies that will shape the future.

The White House strategy provides the framework, identifying priorities and calling for faster innovation and stronger public-private partnerships. The CHIPS Act’s investments target specific technical bottlenecks in the AI computing stack. Congress is already moving on quantum technology. And the government’s equity stakes mean taxpayers have a financial interest in the outcome.

What makes this moment different from previous technology waves is the coordination—and the willingness to take equity stakes rather than just hand out subsidies. The U.S. is not simply funding research and hoping for the best. It is building the infrastructure—physical, intellectual, and institutional—to support technology leadership for decades to come.

Whether this strategy succeeds remains to be seen. But the direction is clear: Uncle Sam is becoming a venture capitalist.