Introduction

The U.S. government has quietly become a part-owner of some of the country’s most important technology companies. And most Americans have no idea it’s happening.

Over the past year, the federal government has taken direct equity stakes in more than 30 companies across semiconductors, quantum computing, steel, nuclear energy, and rare earth minerals . It started with Intel in 2025. Then came quantum startups. And in July 2026, the Commerce Department added six more semiconductor companies to the growing portfolio .

What’s driving this shift? The CHIPS and Science Act was originally 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 most prominent example is Intel. The government’s roughly 10% stake—acquired for $8.9 billion—has generated a paper profit of tens of billions of dollars as Intel’s stock has soared . President Trump has been eager to tout the return, calling it a “great investment” .

But not everyone is celebrating. Critics worry about government interference, political favoritism, and what one analyst called “crony capitalism” . Even some conservatives have raised alarms, with Senator Rand Paul calling the Intel investment “a terrible idea” .

Here’s what’s actually happening, why it matters, and what comes next.

The Intel Deal: How the Government Became a Major Shareholder

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 about 433 million shares of common stock . The deal was funded partially by CHIPS Act grants and partially by a separate Defense Department program focused on secure chip manufacturing for military applications .

The government’s stake is passive. Intel emphasized that the government gets “no board representation or other governance or information rights” . But the administration sees it differently. The Commerce Department has described the arrangement as ensuring “that taxpayer dollars are protected and that the American people share in the upside of these investments” .

Has it been a good deal for taxpayers? On paper, yes. The Intel shares the government acquired for $8.9 billion have more than quadrupled in value . That’s a massive paper profit—one of the best returns the government has ever seen on an industrial investment.

But there’s a catch. The government can’t simply sell its shares whenever it wants. The agreement includes restrictions on when and how the government can exit its position, designed to avoid disrupting the market. And if the stock price falls, so does the paper profit.

The $874 Million Expansion: Six More Companies, Six 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 target specific bottlenecks in AI computing:

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 operations to happen directly on the memory chip, improving performance and reducing energy use.

Multibeam Corporation – Up to $140 million for advanced packaging

Technology that assembles and stacks multiple chips with thousands of connections—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 that reduce signal loss and improve performance.

OBSIDIA Semiconductors – $34 million for counterfeit detection

Technology to secure AI supply chains by detecting counterfeit chips.

Aeluma – $30 million for substrate technology

For photodetectors and lasers used in AI optical interconnects.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed the 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 Quantum Gambit: $2 Billion and a New Foundry

In May 2026, the administration announced an even bigger move: $2.013 billion in CHIPS Act funding for quantum computing companies and chip manufacturers—again in exchange for equity stakes .

The IBM Anderon Foundry – $1 billion

IBM is establishing a standalone quantum chip foundry called Anderon in Albany, New York. The goal: deliver the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029 . Anderon will operate a 300 mm quantum wafer foundry and serve as the anchor for a national quantum ecosystem. The government will take a minority equity stake in the venture .

Other Quantum Investments – $1.013 billion

The remaining funding was spread across quantum computing companies including GlobalFoundries ($375 million), Atom Computing ($100 million), D-Wave ($100 million), Infleqtion ($100 million), PsiQuantum ($100 million), Quantinuum ($100 million), and Rigetti ($100 million) .

Like a venture capital firm building a diversified portfolio, the government is spreading bets across every major quantum modality—superconducting, photonic, trapped ion, neutral atom, silicon spin—rather than picking a single winner.

The New White House Strategy: A Hierarchy of Tech Priorities

The equity model is 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 strategy organizes the U.S. approach around four pillars:

1. Focused – Directing technology competition toward areas where the U.S. has structural 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

The Next Tier

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).

The Foundations

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: The 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 National Security Strategy, which suggested that global talent “undercuts American workers.”

What Comes Next: The Quantum Competitiveness Act

Congress is already thinking about what comes after semiconductors. On August 27, 2026, Congressman Nick Langworthy introduced the American Quantum Competitiveness Act (H.R. 10163) .

The bill would establish the Commerce Department as the federal lead for commercial quantum technology and develop a national strategy focused on manufacturing, investment, and trusted domestic supply chains . It defines “critical components” broadly—cryogenic refrigerators, photonics, lasers, and semiconductor substrates—and restricts sourcing from covered nations including China.

The legislation is supported by the Quantum Industry Coalition (which represents IBM, Microsoft, and Google), as well as research institutions including the Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester, and University at Albany .

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. A CNBC survey 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 .

Arguments for the Model:

Supporters point to the returns. The Intel stake alone has generated tens of billions in paper profits. And the administration argues that government ownership ensures taxpayer money isn’t wasted. The Commerce Department has described the equity stakes as ensuring “that taxpayer dollars are protected and that the American people share in the upside of these investments” .

Arguments Against the Model:

Critics worry about government interference. The libertarian Cato Institute has been outspoken, with policy scholar Tad DeHaven writing that the administration’s policy is “a deliberate attempt to shape corporate behavior and obtain leverage under the guise of bolstering domestic capacity” .

There are also concerns about “crony capitalism”—the manipulation of the marketplace to benefit politicians or their friends. The practice “may distort competition, stifle innovation, and potentially lead to monopolies or market dominance” .

What This Means for the Future

What’s emerging is a new model of American technology 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. 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 one thing is clear: the U.S. government is no longer just a regulator or a grant-maker. It’s become an investor in American technology.