As the US government seriously considers taking a stake in Intel, the company faces more than just a simple transaction; it has become a strategic industry bet. Once the semiconductor leader, Intel’s lagging advanced process technology has gradually eroded its ability to compete with TSMC and Samsung Electronics at the 7nm, 5nm, and even upcoming 2nm nodes. Meanwhile, construction delays at the Ohio wafer fab have hindered the US government’s carefully crafted blueprint for domestic advanced manufacturing from materializing.