Shining a Spotlight on Intel Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has emerged from the shadows of its semiconductor rivals, capturing the attention of investors and policymakers alike. After years of struggling to keep pace with competitors like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM),

SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to buy $2 billion of Intel Corp. stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions.

The ongoing US trade policy saga has revealed there are many ways for the administration to help a company's fortunes

Compared to its last-generation chips, Intel claims that Meteor Lake delivers 1.7 times the performance in generative AI and is 2.5 times as power efficient in the UL Procyon AI inference benchmark.

Pat Gelsinger’s keynote made it clear where Intel INTC -4.2% plans to innovate: AI. No surprise to anyone with a pulse, to be sure, but his enthusiasm was infectious.

By extending the pool of RAM available to integrated graphics, Intel is positioning its systems to handle larger models that would otherwise be constrained. This may allow users to offload more of the model onto VRAM, reducing bottlenecks and improving stability when running AI tools.

The move is part of SoftBank's investing initiatives in the US, which also includes commitments towards AI computing. Intel, which has lagged behind in the chip race after being the erstwhile market leader,