FTI Consulting News Bytes – 22 August 2025

FTI Consulting News Bytes

We start this long weekend with news that the US government is taking equity stakes in Intel and other chipmakers in exchange for grants under the Chips Act as part of a plan to revive US manufacturing. We then take a look at the ongoing national security investigation into the quantum computing acquisition of Oxford Ionics by IonQ. Next up, we cover the news that the UK has dropped its demand for a backdoor into Apple’s encrypted data, meaning U.S. users’ privacy remains protected. Staying with the US, we cover the White House launching its official TikTok account, which has already amassed +100k followers. Lastly, we examine how Anthropic has developed a new tool to identify and end distressing conversations that could be harmful.

This week’s news

Hungry for chips: US government proposes deal with chipmaker Intel

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the White House was “ironing out the details” that would see the US government take a 10% stake in US chipmaker Intel. The deal could involve refashioning billions of dollars in grants under the Chips Act, from Joe Biden’s tenure, into an equity stake for the White House. However, Lutnick emphasised that the US government’s proposed stake in Intel would not grant governance or voting rights. This announcement comes after Intel’s manufacturing business has lost billions of dollars trying to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to make the most advanced chips. Intel declined to comment, but the recent reports caused a rally in Intel’s share price, the Financial Times reports. 

National Security and Investment Act pauses acquisition

The Times reported in print that the acquisition of Oxford Ionics by IonQ is being subjected to extra checks by the government under the National Security and Investment Act (NSIA). Oxford Ionics was spun out of Oxford University and has developed a way to overcome some of the barriers restricting quantum computer development. The Act, introduced in January 2022, gives the government the right to intervene in transactions deemed to pose a national security risk. This news comes after a Chinese company’s acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab, a semiconductor business, was blocked by the Act. A Cabinet Office spokesperson declined to comment on the proceedings.

UK throws in the towel on Apple privacy dispute

The US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, announced in a post on X that the UK had agreed to drop its instruction for Apple to provide access to users’ data. According to the BBC, in December, the UK issued Apple with a formal notice demanding the right to access encrypted data from worldwide users as part of the Investigatory Powers Act. However, Apple denied the initial request and responded by withdrawing ADP from the UK market and starting a legal process to challenge the order. Neither Apple nor the Home Office has given any official confirmation of the dropped order. The BBC still points out that the Data Access Agreement between the US and UK still allows both countries to share data for law enforcement purposes.

White House dances into TikTok

The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, which garnered 4,500 followers within the first hour, the Guardian reports. The first post came with a caption which read: “America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?”. This comes after Trump put the proposed ban on TikTok on pause for the third time in June, which was initially due to come into effect the day before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has recently become sympathetic to the global social media platform with 170 million users in the US, crediting it with helping him gain support among young voters during the 2024 presidential election. The account, as of the 22nd of August, currently boasts over 370,000 followers. 

AI chatbot can now end conversations if it is distressed

Anthropic’s Claude will now be capable of ending harmful or distressing conversations, the Independent reports. Testing revealed that the chatbot had shown a “pattern of distress” when asked to generate harmful content. The AI chatbot has a “strong preference against engaging with harmful tasks”, and Anthropic hopes that this will benefit the system’s welfare. However, Anthropic added that Claude is “directed not to use this ability in cases where users might be at imminent risk of harming themselves or others”. This news comes after Anthropic launched a “model welfare” programme, which emphasised human welfare and remained uncertain about the model’s well-being.

Top Tweets of the Week

• BBC News (UK): Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats exposed in Google results: https://t.co/uQcZmFUbDy 
• NASA Technology: Could magnets help astronauts breathe on Mars? 🧲Living and working on Mars will require innovative technologies to produce oxygen for future explorers. That’s why researchers, working with NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program, are developing a powerful new idea using swirling fluids and strong magnets to produce breathable air.
• Sam Altman, CEO at OpenAI: ChatGPT Go launches in India! Looking forward to making ChatGPT more affordable in India first, and then learning from feedback to expand to other countries.

Number of the week

$16bn The potential value increase of the S&P 500 from AI according to Morgan Stanley