SANTA CLARA, California, May 2, 2026, 10:06 PDT
U.S. antitrust regulators have signed off on Intel Corporation’s investment in SambaNova Systems, eliminating a key regulatory obstacle from an AI-chip deal that’s drawn attention because Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also serves as chair at the startup. According to a Federal Trade Commission notice, the agency granted early termination for transaction 20261227, naming Intel as the acquirer and SambaNova as the target.
Intel caught a break with the timing. With U.S. markets shut on Saturday, the stock’s last close came Friday—$99.62, up 5.44%. Shares briefly hit $100.45 earlier that session as the market kept betting on hotter demand for AI server chips.
This moment is critical for Intel, which is looking to push its rally beyond just a one-off bump in the stock. The Santa Clara-based firm is weaving together CPUs, contract chip-making, and partnerships with outside AI players, as investment tilts toward inference—that’s the phase where AI models, already trained, actually respond to inputs and generate decisions.
In February, Intel boosted its stake in SambaNova to 8.2% from last year’s 6.8%, following a $35 million investment, Reuters said. The chipmaker is also eyeing an additional $15 million for the AI startup, per previous Reuters coverage.
The FTC’s move doesn’t signal approval for Intel’s strategy. Early termination just indicates that the FTC and Justice Department wrapped up their review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino process and chose not to pursue enforcement at this stage. That process applies to certain deals before they close.
Back in February, Intel and SambaNova laid out plans for a multiyear partnership aimed at rolling out AI inference offerings centered on Intel Xeon hardware. At the time, Intel made it clear: this initiative is designed to supplement its existing data-center GPU roadmap—not to serve as a substitute.
SambaNova has pulled in $350 million in fresh funding, with Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital at the front of the investment pack. SoftBank Corp is signed on as the debut customer for the SN50 chip, slated for rollout in Japanese AI data centers. The company says the money will go to ramping up SN50 chip production, scaling SambaCloud, and deepening enterprise software tie-ins.
Tan described Intel’s recent push, emphasizing that “the next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user.” Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner highlighted the “growing and essential role of the CPU in the AI era” as Intel turned in stronger first-quarter numbers. Intel Corporation
Intel posted first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, a 7% rise, and said it expects second-quarter revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion—topping Wall Street forecasts from LSEG. Reuters pointed to demand for AI-centered CPUs as the catalyst for the upbeat outlook, which pushed Intel shares higher in after-hours trade following the announcement.
It’s still a tough field. Nvidia leads the pack on AI accelerators—no question—while AMD and Arm are in pursuit, hoping to grab a piece of the growing AI infrastructure market. TECHnalysis Research analyst Bob O’Donnell noted Intel’s turnaround story isn’t over: its foundry arm must start delivering real results by 2027 to prove the company’s reset has worked.
Another issue: governance. Back in April, Reuters flagged that Tan’s connections to SambaNova and several other startups could present possible conflicts. Intel, for its part, said its board and policies are in place to make sure investment moves align with the company’s and shareholders’ interests.
Wall Street remains on the fence. UBS’s Timothy Arcuri bumped his Intel target up to $83 from $65, yet stuck with a Neutral call. He noted that investors seem ready to “overlook a lack of earnings power” as momentum builds around the manufacturing narrative. TipRanks
With the clearance out of the way, Intel faces a tougher question: can SambaNova, Xeon demand, and any foundry wins actually deliver the revenue and margins needed to support a stock price that’s outrun the company’s profit growth?
