Trump plans to announce semiconductor tariffs as high as 300% this week, citing national security concerns. Companies with U.S. manufacturing commitments like Apple and Nvidia may receive exemptions, while foreign chipmakers TSMC and Samsung face higher exemption hurdles despite U.S. investments. The tariffs could increase consumer prices and slow economic growth by 0.76% over ten years. Intel is among the few who stands to benefit as companies may shift to domestic foundries, recently receiving a $2 billion SoftBank investment.

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The White House is finalizing a deal to convert Intel’s $10.9 billion Chips Act subsidies into a 10% government equity stake without voting rights, marking an unprecedented arrangement to boost domestic chip manufacturing while ensuring taxpayer benefit.

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SoftBank Group will invest $2 billion in Intel at $23 per share, acquiring approximately 2% of the chipmaker. The deal aligns with Trump administration efforts to boost U.S. semiconductor production and follows SoftBank’s $500 billion Stargate AI project announcement. CEO Masayoshi Son emphasized semiconductors’ foundational role across industries, while Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted their longstanding relationship. The investment complements SoftBank’s recent chip sector acquisitions including Graphcore and Ampere Computing, potentially creating synergies between Intel’s fabrication capabilities and SoftBank subsidiary Arm’s chip designs.

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There are some very interesting trend for Generative AI uses according to an article on HBR:

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AI start-up Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5bn all-cash bid for Google’s Chrome, positioning itself as a potential buyer if a U.S. court forces a divestment following Google’s antitrust loss. Backed by SoftBank, Nvidia, and Jeff Bezos, Perplexity says major VC funds will finance the deal, pledging to keep Chromium open-source, retain staff, and invest $3bn over two years.

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Japanese automakers expect a ¥1.9 trillion ($12.9bn) hit this fiscal year from U.S. tariffs on Japan-built cars, prompting plans to expand U.S. production and adjust supply chains. Despite a recent trade deal lowering the total tariff to 15%, companies like Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, and Honda are boosting American manufacturing to protect profitability and jobs at home.

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