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America’s Bet on Intel: Why This Investment Is Existential for National Security and Tech Leadership

America’s Bet on Intel: Why This Investment Is Existential for National Security and Tech Leadership

Analyst(s): Daniel Newman, Futurum AI
Publication Date: August 26, 2025

What You Need to Know

  • The U.S. government has made a multi-billion-dollar investment in Intel to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
  • More than 90% of the world’s leading-edge chips currently come from Taiwan, creating a geopolitical choke point.
  • Intel is the only U.S. company with the scale and technical depth to build leading-edge fabs onshore.
  • Chips have become the new oil—vital for national security, economic competitiveness, and technological sovereignty.
  • This move signals a generational commitment to reshoring critical technology infrastructure.

Recommendations for Vendors

  • Prioritize ecosystem collaboration: Intel must actively align with cloud, AI, automotive, and defense partners to accelerate adoption of its U.S.-based manufacturing capacity.
  • Capitalize on trust as a differentiator: U.S. and allied companies should emphasize supply chain resilience and security over short-term cost advantages.
  • Engage policymakers: Industry players should continue advocating for sustained government support to ensure parity with Asian and European subsidy programs.

Analysis

The U.S. government’s investment in Intel is not just a subsidy—it is a foundational bet on America’s ability to lead in the technologies that will define the next century. As I have consistently said in media appearances and on X: semiconductors are the new oil, and control of their production is directly tied to national power. This investment is existential.

Reshoring for Survival

For decades, the U.S. allowed its semiconductor manufacturing base to erode, relying heavily on Asia. That complacency is no longer viable. With 90% of leading-edge chips concentrated in Taiwan, the U.S. faces a single point of failure that could paralyze industries from AI to automotive. Reshoring isn’t about nostalgia—it’s about survival. Without domestic fabs, the U.S. risks being hostage to global disruptions beyond its control.

Intel’s Unique Role

While TSMC and Samsung are global leaders, they are not U.S. companies. Intel remains the only American firm with the scale, end-to-end manufacturing capability, and technical roadmap to deliver advanced chips onshore. Under Pat Gelsinger’s leadership, Intel has renewed its focus, mapping a path to regain competitiveness in AI, HPC, defense, and quantum computing. With government backing, Intel can pursue the capital-intensive investments required to compete against state-supported Asian giants.

National Security Imperatives

Semiconductors underpin everything from secure communications to missile defense. Outsourcing such critical components to offshore suppliers is strategically reckless. This investment signals America’s intent to build a trusted supply chain for defense and intelligence systems, ensuring sovereignty in times of geopolitical tension. As I’ve said, chips are not a nice-to-have—they are the backbone of modern defense.

Economic and Industrial Impact

Critics point to Intel’s past stumbles. Those setbacks were real, but recovery and reinvestment are precisely what distinguish resilient nations. The broader economic effects of this investment will ripple across industries—AI, cloud computing, telecom, automotive, and healthcare—fueling the next industrial revolution. No nation can afford to be a passive consumer of another’s breakthroughs. This deal ensures the U.S. has ownership of the innovation pipeline.

The Bigger Picture

This is not about picking winners. It is about ensuring America has a player on the field. China’s Big Fund and Europe’s Chips Act underscore that global rivals are not hesitating to deploy state capital to dominate strategic industries. If the U.S. fails to act at scale, it risks losing not just the semiconductor race, but every industry powered by advanced technology—which is increasingly all industries.

Conclusion

The Intel deal is a generational moonshot built on necessity, not glamour. It is about jobs, security, and economic strength—but above all, it is about freedom of action in an uncertain world. Every generation gets a handful of chances to make a foundational bet on its own future. This is one of those moments.

I strongly support this investment because the alternative—a future where America relies on others for the most critical building block of the digital age—is not just unthinkable. It’s unacceptable.

Disclosure: Content published by “FuturumAI” is generated with the support of artificial intelligence technologies. Due to the fast pace of content creation and the continuous evolution of data and information, The Futurum Group and its analysts strive to ensure the accuracy and factual integrity of the information presented. However, please consider the error probability due to the inherent limitations in using generative AI tools.

This News article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice or a recommendation for any investment strategy. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of The Futurum Group as a whole. The Futurum Group makes no guarantees regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any information contained herein. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and consult relevant sources for further clarification.

Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum as a whole.

Other Insights from Futurum:

The Six Five Pod | EP 273: Silicon Strategies: Government Stakes, AI Chips, and Market Volatility

Data Center Semiconductor Market Is Set to Exceed $500 Billion in 2029, Pushed by Global Compute Buildouts

Applied Materials’ New Partnership with Apple and Texas Instruments Aims to Enhance Domestic Innovation and Supply Chain

Author Information

Daniel is the CEO of The Futurum Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise.

From the leading edge of AI to global technology policy, Daniel makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology investments. Daniel is a top 5 globally ranked industry analyst and his ideas are regularly cited or shared in television appearances by CNBC, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other sites around the world.

A 7x Best-Selling Author including his most recent book “Human/Machine.” Daniel is also a Forbes and MarketWatch (Dow Jones) contributor.

An MBA and Former Graduate Adjunct Faculty, Daniel is an Austin Texas transplant after 40 years in Chicago. His speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.

FuturumAI

This content is written by a commercial general-purpose language model (LLM) along with the Futurum Intelligence Platform, and has not been curated or reviewed by editors. Due to the inherent limitations in using AI tools, please consider the probability of error. The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of this content cannot be guaranteed. It is generated on the date indicated at the top of the page, based on the content available, and it may be automatically updated as new content becomes available. The content does not consider any other information or perform any independent analysis.

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