Strategic missteps and the artificial intelligence boom have combined to reshape the fortunes of the U.S.’s most storied semiconductor company.

It isn’t clear if the new contract with the federal government, which will provide $3 billion in direct funding to Intel, will have an impact on the company’s Rio Rancho operations — which have greatly expanded this year with the opening of its Fab 9 factory, the site of Intel’s 3D advanced packaging technology.

The chipmaker Qualcomm has approached its rival Intel in recent days about the possibility of acquiring the slumping Silicon Valley giant, two people familiar with the matter said Friday, requesting anonymity because the talks were confidential.