The deal between SoftBank and Intel would involve the creation of roughly 87 million new shares, adding an incremental 2% to Intel’s overall share count. Reitzes believes the transaction will happen before the end of the year.

The move could be seen as a vote of confidence for Intel, which has been playing catch-up in an industry that has chased the artificial intelligence boom.

A $2 billion investment represents a roughly 2% stake, ranking SoftBank the fifth-largest shareholder of Intel, while a reported 10% stake by the U.S. would be worth about $10.4 billion as of Monday’s share price.