The Intel Public Sector Summit (IPSS) 2025 offered a front-row seat to the future of government technology. Artificial intelligence transforms public sector operations at breakneck speed, pushing agencies to rethink their workflows and infrastructure. And one thing is clear: having a secure, reliable semiconductor supply is essential.
Over an action-packed day and a half in Washington, D.C., public sector decision-makers and technology experts from industry and academia came together to tackle some of today's most pressing questions: How do we maximize AI's potential while keeping systems secure? How can we accelerate AI adoption? How can we strengthen America's semiconductor industry to support national security?
Intel’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, David Zinsner, and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Christoph Schell, set the stage on day one with their session, “Powering America's Future.” Technology fuels the U.S. economy and national defense, and Intel is making big, long-term investments to support government partners.
Zinsner highlighted Intel's $16+ billion investment in U.S. research and development and a massive $100 billion push to expand domestic chip production. For example, Intel's Arizona facility—home to the 18A Panther Lake next-gen processor—is on track to manufacture the world's most advanced logic chips at a scale on U.S. soil.
Bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. is about securing innovation. Schell highlighted how domestic chip design and production provide government agencies with transparent, trustworthy supply chains for AI, high-performance computing, and other cutting-edge initiatives. But beyond that, domestic production fosters a new wave of American innovation.
Here's what else stood out the most from IPSS:
1. AI is driving a microelectronics revolution
The demand for high-performance, cost-effective, and power-efficient systems will only rise. Reducing offshore dependency is costly, with fabrication plants running up to $30 billion each. Currently, 89% of microelectronics the defense industry relies on comes from foreign suppliers.
To ramp up homegrown semiconductor development, Intel and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have partnered on several initiatives, including Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes (RAMP), RAMP-Commercial, and the State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integration Prototype (SHIP). Each program built upon the previous one: RAMP demonstrated that secure chip manufacturing for critical government applications is possible, RAMP-C expanded production to include commercial foundries, and SHIP introduced advanced packaging capabilities to meet bespoke defense requirements.
The Secure Enclave program represents the next phase, ensuring leading-edge chips can be designed and made in America while maintaining the highest security standards.
2. AI continues reshaping government operations
Many agencies are wisely taking a walk-then-run approach to AI. The more successful agencies are building a solid foundation for operationalizing AI applications with leadership from chief data officers, chief digital and artificial intelligence officers, and other C-suite leaders. They thoughtfully work through data governance, compliance, and process orchestration before deploying AI applications.
Agencies embracing pilot programs that solve real-world problems are finding footing sooner than big moon-shot initiatives. AI excels at real-time analysis, whether picking out attack indicators in IT logs or finding storm patterns in satellite data. GPU-accelerated weather predictions fuel potentially life-saving alerts that warn residents faster than ever before.
Even when pilots don't move to production, they impart lessons for the next potential use case. These experiments help establish realistic expectations for deployment, efficacy, and the parameters for trustworthy use. They can also reveal best practices for people using AI tools so they can get the most out of them.
3. Government will have many uses for AI, and technology options to deliver it
Government tech leaders are exploring different types of uses for AI, including some that are unique to government, and government will need AI infrastructure enabled by powerful computing, cutting-edge technology, and seamless integration. AI datacenters need to be smart, secure, and able to work independently while staying connected across agencies. Government’s AI datacenters need the latest technology to ensure strong cybersecurity, reliable performance, and trusted tools. While AI datacenters need GPUs as accelerators, overall data center architecture will optimize a mix of CPUs, NPUs, and other accelerators for a complete power range to scale AI across the enterprise.
But AI isn't limited to data centers. First responders, military units, and field agents need AI that works instantly, right where they are. Edge AI makes this possible by bringing advanced computing to devices in the field, enabling real-time processing with minimal delays. Meanwhile, office workers can gain a boost from AI PCs, which supercharge productivity by automating tasks like email filtering, document summarization, and streamlining workflows. Processing data locally improves privacy by reducing cloud reliance and minimizing security risks.
4. Supply chain security is a top priority
AI models are more than just lines of code—they are the product of a supply chain delivered by intricate ecosystems, vulnerable at every stage of development and deployment. They are projected to continue to grow exponentially in size, using and creating more and more data. Without strong oversight, vulnerabilities in algorithms, third-party vendors, and data security could expose critical operations to disruption or attack.
Efforts to secure the AI supply chain need to address the full AI stack, starting with the hardware and continuing up through the AI software stack extending to the user interface. So, supply chain security isn’t one department’s issue; it requires a multidisciplinary team. AI specialists, hardware and software developers, program managers, legal experts, supply chain managers, and security professionals must work together to identify and mitigate risks. Government agencies should also enhance interagency collaboration to share intelligence on emerging threats with private-sector partners. A proactive, unified approach is essential to safeguarding AI systems.
5. Government-industry partnership has never been more critical
Strategic partnerships between government agencies, private-sector contractors, and the semiconductor industry drive AI security and adoption. AI thrives on cutting-edge microelectronics, but even the most advanced systems face significant risks without a resilient, transparent supply chain.
Collaborative initiatives like RAMP and SHIP demonstrate that domestically produced chips can meet the DoD's highly specialized demands, while Intel Foundry delivers access to state-of-the-art manufacturing. Secure Enclave builds on this progress, establishing a trusted corridor for agencies to source chips from multiple suppliers within and beyond Intel for flexibility.
Public-private collaboration is key to anticipating and mitigating threats. By reinvigorating U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and uniting expertise across industries, these partnerships establish the foundation for technological sovereignty.
