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.

Suddenly, Intel is a hot topic again — but this time as an investment property. As the company weathers layoffs and a struggling foundry business, both the U.S. government and SoftBank plan to invest.