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Chip-Maker Intel to Get Billions-Worth of US Grants for Secret Pentagon Program

The Biden administration has made slashing US reliance on Asia for production of cutting-edge microchips a key part of its economic agenda. It has pumped billions into domestic manufacturers like Intel while tightening restrictions on Chinese firms to hinder technological development in the Asian nation's semiconductor industry.
Sputnik
Intel Corp. has reportedly qualified for $3.5 billion-worth of federal grants to to execute a secret Pentagon program.
Advanced chips with military and intelligence applications will be produced by the US tech giant, reported Bloomberg, quoting sources.
The program — dubbed Secure Enclave — will reportedly be spread across several US states where Intel has manufacturing facilities.
The funding for Intel would add to the estimated $8.5 billion-worth incentive package of grants and $11 billion in loans that the company was awarded earlier in the year under the Chips and Science Act.
But Intel is yet to see any of that money as the terms of that package are still being negotiated, the website added.
The deal, expected to be announced shortly, would offer a welcome lifeline to the troubled company. Intel’s shares fell nearly 30 percent in August after a dismal profits report was released by the tech titan.
The company had also announced plans to slash its workforce following a pessimistic income forecast.
Investors led by billionaire Warren Buffett began a massive sell-off last month, with Intel's stocks shedding nearly $3 trillion in value against the backdrop of recession fears and inflation.
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