Dive Brief:
- Intel on Monday said it will invest 5 billion euros, or roughly $5.7 billion, expanding production of its advanced data center and artificial intelligence chips in Leixlip, Ireland.
- The project, which began earlier this year, will scale capacity for Intel’s Xeon 6 processors and next-generation variants built on the Intel 3 node, according to a news release. The chipmaker also plans to advance research and development activities and create high-tech jobs through its investment.
- Intel said it will upgrade existing facilities and install new manufacturing equipment at the Leixlip campus, including an expanded automated track system to enhance production. A spokesperson declined via email to disclose project specifics, such as increases in capacity or headcounts.
Dive Insight:
Intel is betting big on its Ireland campus amid surging demand for silicon to power AI and high-performance computing.
The Santa Clara, California-based company has invested more than 30 billion euros, or more than $34 billion, on its Leixlip campus since establishing operations in 1989. It is considered one of Intel’s most advanced manufacturing sites and employs 4,900 people.
In 2024, Intel formed a joint venture with private equity firm Apollo related to its Fab 34 facility in Leixlip. In exchange for a minority equity interest in the facility, Apollo invested $11 billion in Intel. The deal gave Intel “financial flexibility” as it struggled to spin off its foundry business and keep pace with the AI boom. The company ousted former CEO Pat Gelsinger at the end of 2024 following a record $16.6 billion quarterly loss.
Intel has since moved to shore up costs and improve profitability under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. In April, Intel struck a deal to repurchase Apollo’s 49% stake in Fab 34 for $14.2 billion, signaling a turnaround for the chipmaker as it looked to regain full control of the high-tech fab. At the time, Intel CFO David Zinsner said the company had a “stronger balance sheet, improved financial discipline and an evolved business strategy.”
The company’s latest investment plans would further solidify Ireland as a leading semiconductor manufacturing hub for Europe.
“This €5 billion investment represents a definitive commitment to maximize capacity at our Leixlip campus and increase what we can deliver to Intel Foundry customers,” Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president, chief technology and operations officer and general manager at Intel Foundry, said in a statement.
In addition to Intel’s manufacturing operations in the U.S., Ireland, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, the chipmaker has sites in Israel, Germany and Poland that are focused on research and development, according to its website. Last summer, Intel canceled its manufacturing projects in Germany and Poland as part of a larger cost-cutting effort that led to thousands of job losses.
The company also received an $8.9 billion investment from the U.S. government under the CHIPS and Science Act to build out the nation’s semiconductor supply chain in exchange for 10% company equity. More recently, Intel and Albuquerqe, New Mexico-based glass producer 3DGS will invest $3.3 billion to establish a substrate manufacturing plant in Odisha, India, Reuters reported. Substrates are used for semiconductor packaging and electronic circuits.
