Softbank wanted to buy out the entire foundry division of Intel, which the company refers to as Intel Foundry Services (IFS), but settled for a $2 billion equity stake in the company, Tom's Hardware reports citing Financial Times. This aligns with a long-held industry view that Intel is spinning off IFS as a standalone company much like AMD did with GlobalFoundries, about 15 years ago. Apparently, Softbank was stonewalled by Intel's CHIPS Act funding. In 2024, Intel entered an agreement with the US Department of Commerce to receive funding under the Biden Administration's CHIPS and Science Act. The company was granted $7.86 billion in funds on condition that Intel will maintain at least 50.1% stake in IFS if it ever sought to spin it off as a separate company.