By Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said any U.S. investment in Intel would be aimed at helping the troubled chipmaker stabilize, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government wanted equity stakes in exchange for its support of semiconductor manufacturers.

Asked about reports that the U.S. was considering taking a 10% stake in Intel, Bessent told CNBC's "Squawk Box" program: "The stake would be a conversion of the grants and maybe increase the investment into Intel to help stabilize the company for chip production here in the U.S."

Bessent gave no details about the size or timing of any U.S. stake in Intel, but said any investment would not be aimed at forcing U.S. companies to buy chips from Intel.

Bessent's comments were the first official response after Bloomberg News reported on Monday that the U.S. government is in talks to take a 10% stake in Intel. The White House had declined to comment on the report on Monday.

His comments also came a day after SoftBank Group agreed to invest $2 billion into the U.S. chipmaker, which has struggled to compete after years of management blunders.

Lutnick, speaking on a separate CNBC program, said the Biden administration had been "giving away" grants with no return on investment, but U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to change that equation.

"The Biden administration literally was giving Intel money for free and giving TSMC money for free, and all these companies just giving the money for free, and Donald Trump turned it into saying, 'Hey, we want equity for the money. If we're going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action for the American taxpayer.'"

Intel has struggled financially and recorded an annual loss of $18.8 billion in 2024, its first such loss since 1986, as it grapples with multiple challenges.