Intel’s employees needed some good news. The company may still boast one of Silicon Valley’s most storied names, but its staff, which numbered 96,000 as of the end of July, had worked for years through nearly uninterrupted decline, watching their company lose nearly all relevance. Though its stock price soared just before the pandemic on a data center boom, then again on an ambitious (and since abandoned) plan to expand its manufacturing business, Intel last produced truly leading-edge chips in 2017. While neighbors feasted on the AI boom, Intel couldn’t seem to find its footing.
So when employees logged on to watch a press conference on Sept. 18, anticipation was high. And finally, there was some good news to share: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang appeared on a split screen to share the details of a surprise deal: Nvidia would be investing $5 billion into Intel, a hugely needed boost of capital and confidence from the most powerful man in business.
