this won't ruin his company or him financially for the rest of his life if it doesn't work out

It wouldn't be the only thing but I think there's a nonzero chance that something like this is one key step in a spiral that forces Intel into bankruptcy. Their inability to get their foundry business off the ground currently threatens their long term prospects, and if they get stuck in a place where the government won't trust them because they don't have customers, and the customers won't trust them because they don't have the money, then that might truly lead to the end of the company, with his business decisions taught in business schools as a case study.