The United States government is set to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel in a deal valued at $11.1 billion. This transaction, however, is not a conventional sale. The shares are being acquired in exchange for subsidies previously allocated and paid out to Intel under the US CHIPS Act. In essence, government grants are being converted into a direct equity stake.
This move is part of a broader US strategy to bolster domestic semiconductor production and counter China’s influence in the technology sector. However, it has drawn criticism, with some commentators noting the irony of the US government criticising the close ties between Chinese tech firms and their government, whilst now pursuing a similar model of integration itself. The US is increasingly resembling the pot calling the kettle black.
The agreement also extends to Intel Foundry, the company’s manufacturing arm. The US will have the option to acquire an additional five percent of Intel’s shares should the company’s stake in the foundry division fall below 51 percent. This clause is designed to ensure the strategically vital production of microchips remains on American soil.
Intel has framed the deal as a necessary investment in its future, particularly as it faces financial pressures that have already led to significant job losses and the cancellation of international expansion plans. The US government has pledged to be a passive owner and will not, for now, take a seat on the board of directors. The intention is for the government to vote in alignment with Intel’s own recommendations. However, the chipmaker itself has acknowledged that direct government involvement could provoke a negative reaction from international clients and raises legal questions about the original intent of the CHIPS Act.
Intel Unveils Next-Generation ‘Clearwater Forest’ Xeon Processors
On the technology front, Intel has presented Clearwater Forest, its next generation of Xeon E-core processors designed to replace the current Sierra Forest architecture. This new design represents a significant leap forward, utilising the Intel 18A process node and advanced packaging that combines Foveros Direct 3D with EMIB technology.
At the heart of Clearwater Forest are the new ‘Darkmont’ E-cores. These have been engineered to process more instructions per cycle through an enlarged and optimised internal structure. Key enhancements include a 64KB instruction cache per core, reinforced execution units for integer and vector calculations, and a larger processing window to maximise parallelism. The architecture will feature up to 12 compute chiplets stacked on three base tiles and two I/O tiles, all supported by a large last-level cache to ensure high throughput for demanding workloads.
Crucially for enterprise customers, Clearwater Forest will be compatible with the existing Xeon 69xxE/P platform, allowing businesses to upgrade without overhauling their current server infrastructure. These processors will support up to 12 channels of DDR5-8000 memory, as well as PCIe and CXL standards. Configurations will scale up to 288 cores per socket, enabling powerful 576-core dual-socket systems.
New Beta Drivers Offer Game Optimisations
For consumers, Intel has released a new beta version of its graphics drivers, the Arc & Iris Xe Graphics Driver 32.0.101.7028. This release provides “Game On” optimisations for two upcoming titles: Hell is Us and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
The update does not include any specific bug fixes. This is unsurprising, as its publication follows closely on the heels of the WHQL-certified 101.7026 version released earlier in the week. The focus of this beta driver is purely on ensuring optimal performance for the two new game releases.
