U.S. Vice President JD Vance has reaffirmed the nation's commitment to ensuring the most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chips are designed and manufactured within the United States. His statement, made at the AI Action Summit in Paris, triggered a surge in Intel's stock price, which climbed over 6% during trading on February 11, followed by an additional 0.62% increase in after-hours trading.

Ensuring AI Leadership in the U.S.

Speaking at the summit, Vance emphasized that AI will not replace American jobs but instead enhance productivity, drive economic growth, and create new employment opportunities. He outlined the Trump administration's commitment to maintaining America's AI dominance by securing the entire AI technology stack—from semiconductor design to frontier algorithms and transformative applications.

“The computing power required for AI advancement is critical, and to safeguard America's advantage, the Trump administration will ensure the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S. with American-designed and manufactured chips,” Vance stated.

This stance represents a shift from the current industry landscape, where approximately 90% of advanced chips—including AI processors and mobile CPUs—are produced at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) facilities in Taiwan. Although TSMC has begun operations at its Arizona plant, production capacity remains limited. Intel, however, is the only U.S.-based company capable of mass-producing cutting-edge AI processors domestically. The company has received billions in subsidies through the CHIPS and Science Act, a crucial lifeline amid struggles in its contract foundry business.

Market Impact and Intel's Growing Role

Vance's remarks fueled speculation that NVIDIA, which currently relies on TSMC for its high-performance GPUs, may shift part of its AI chip production to Intel in the future. This prospect drove Intel's stock price up sharply during the trading session.

In addition to supporting domestic AI chip manufacturing, Vance also took a firm stance against partnerships with authoritarian regimes. Without explicitly naming China, he cautioned against dependence on foreign technologies, citing past issues with low-cost 5G and surveillance equipment.

The U.S. government's push to strengthen domestic semiconductor production comes as global AI demand soars. With Intel set to mass-produce its latest Intel 18A process chips in 2025, the company is positioning itself as a key player in the next generation of AI hardware. As geopolitical and economic tensions continue to shape the semiconductor landscape, the battle for AI chip supremacy is only beginning.