Intel invests €5 billion in Leixlip plant to expand AI chip manufacturing, adding hundreds of jobs

The investment plan

Intel has committed €5 billion ($5.7 billion) to upgrade its Leixlip campus in County Kildare, west of Dublin. The program, which began earlier this year, focuses on installing new manufacturing equipment in existing fabrication facilities rather than building new plants. It is scheduled to finish by the end of 2027. The investment is designed to increase production of advanced processors, including the Xeon 6 and next-generation Intel Xeon built on Intel 3 process technology. The expansion will also support research and development activities across the site's existing cleanroom space.

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.

Jobs and local impact

The project is expected to create several hundred full-time high-tech jobs, adding to the 4,900 people already employed by Intel in Ireland. Thousands of construction jobs for specialized tradespeople will also be generated during the upgrade. Michael Lohan, chief executive of IDA Ireland, said the initiative demonstrated the value of Ireland's skilled workforce, innovation ecosystem and stable business environment. The Irish government has recently unveiled a strategy aimed at attracting further semiconductor investment. Taoiseach Micheál Martin called it a powerful vote of confidence in the country's advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

At a time of rapid technological change and global competition, this expansion strengthens Ireland's role in securing resilient semiconductor supply chains and reinforces our ambition to remain a global leader in innovation, productivity and sustainable economic growth.

Foundry and AI chip race

Intel's Foundry business, which manufactures chips for external customers such as Amazon Web Services and MediaTek, was established to rival Taiwan's TSMC. The Leixlip facility is one of only a few plants globally that produces the advanced Xeon 6 processors used in AI data-centre servers. Naga Chandrasekaran, Intel's chief technology and operations officer and general manager of Intel Foundry, said the equipment upgrades would not only increase output of critical products but also advance research and development activities. The company aims to utilize capacity across the campus's existing cleanroom footprint as demand for AI computing continues to outstrip supply.

Turnaround and strategic moves

The Irish expansion caps a sharp turnaround for Intel. Its share price has more than doubled in the past six months, with the company's market capitalization nearly quadrupling over the past year, driven by the AI boom and US government support. In April, Intel agreed to pay $14.2 billion to buy back the 49 percent stake in its Fab 34 facility from Apollo Global Management, a $3 billion premium over the $11.2 billion it received when it sold the stake in 2024. Last August, the US government took a 10 percent stake in Intel at a small fraction of its current valuation. Chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has also built alliances with Elon Musk's Terafab chipmaking project and the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Intel has cancelled a planned €30 billion factory in Magdeburg, Germany, and shelved a facility in Poland as it optimizes its manufacturing footprint. Intel has invested more than €30 billion in Ireland since establishing operations in 1989.