The Shiro Copr , JAKARTA – SoftBank Group Corp. buys shares of an American chip manufacturer, Intel US$2 billion. This strategic investment combines efforts to save the American chip giant with SoftBank's ambitious goals in the era of artificial intelligence (AI)
Citing Bloomberg on Tuesday (8/19/2025), SoftBank will pay US$23 per share, slightly lower than Intel's last closing price. Meanwhile, Intel will issue new shares specifically for SoftBank.
Intel's stock rose more than 5% in after-hours trading following the news of SoftBank's stock purchase. On the other hand, SoftBank's stock fell by up to 5% on Tuesday (8/19/2025) in Tokyo.
In its investment announcement, SoftBank honored Intel's long history. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that for more than 50 years, Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation.
"Investasi strategis ini mencerminkan keyakinan kami bahwa manufaktur dan pasokan semikonduktor canggih akan semakin berkembang di AS, dengan Intel memainkan peran kunci," kata Son dalam keterangan resmi.
This investment announcement is also seen as a boost for the Japanese government, which is pressing Washington to follow through on its promise to cut Japanese car tariffs in exchange for establishing a $550 billion investment fund in the US.
Meanwhile, Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, said that they appreciate the trust that Son has given to Intel through this investment.
Tan, a veteran in the semiconductor industry who officially became Intel's CEO this year, previously served as an independent director on SoftBank's board until 2022.
SoftBank, which has controlled Arm Holdings Plc for several decades, is striving to become a central player in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Its ambitions have intensified this year following the announcement of the $500 billion Stargate project in collaboration with OpenAI, Oracle Corp., and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX investment fund to build a massive data center in the US.
Previously, Son had also dreamed of the "Izanagi" project to challenge Nvidia's dominance in chip design.
This latest move also shows strong support for Intel, the legendary chip manufacturer that has been struggling hard to maintain relevance in the AI era. Intel is trying to prove itself as a technology leader after falling behind TSMC in contract chip manufacturing and Nvidia in chip design.
Last week, Tan met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, paving the way for discussions on saving the company. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also reportedly considering taking a 10% stake in Intel as part of government support efforts.
SoftBank itself continues to expand its footprint in the US. One way is through the acquisition of an electric vehicle factory owned by Foxconn Technology Group in Ohio, which has the potential to be the starting point of the Stargate project.
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