WSJ Tech News Briefing · Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Intel's recent turnaround is attributed to a combination of factors, including the AI boom and significant support from the Trump administration. Reporter Robbie Whelan highlights that the administration converted federal grants into an equity stake and leveraged personal relationships to secure deals for Intel.
“There are three major factors that have driven this turnaround. One is just pure luck. The AI boom has entered a new phase, and the agentic boom has led to this real boon for Intel, which is that people need hundreds of thousands of what are called CPUs.”
“They took $9 billion in federal grants that Intel had not yet received but had been promised, and they converted those grants overnight into an equity stake for Intel.”
“And so when the president calls and says, look, we've got this company we're invested in, Intel, and we really like to see them succeed. Why don't you go do business with them? They listen very carefully when they get that call.”