With no explanation, Intel, a maker of computer chips, has decided to end its sponsorship of the Science Talent Search after nearly 20 years.

The Science Talent Search is one of the country’s biggest, most important science contests. Thousands of students compete each year, with 40 high schoolers eventually selected to compete in Washington, D.C. Finalists can win prizes worth as much as $150,000 and have gone on to become CEOs and scientists, as well as have won a collective eight Nobel Prizes.

Intel isn’t jumping ship right away. The company, which has sponsored the contest since 1998 and spends about $6 million on it annually, will continue to fund the contest until its contract runs out in 2017. (Time)