A $2 billion investment represents a roughly 2% stake, ranking SoftBank the fifth-largest shareholder of Intel, while a reported 10% stake by the U.S. would be worth about $10.4 billion as of Monday’s share price.

When Lip-Bu Tan stepped down from the SoftBank Group board in 2022 at a time when the Japanese company was grappling with soured investments, his parting message offered advice on how Masayoshi Son's conglomerate could strengthen its business.