Intel outlined a €5 billion capital investment in its Republic of Ireland campus to expand ‌European output to meet the increased demand for AI and high-performance computing.

The chipmaker stated the expansion at its facility in Leixlip, County Kildare, began earlier in the year and involves upgrading fabrication facilities and installing leading-edge manufacturing equipment to boost production of its Intel Xeon 6 and next-generation Xeon processors built on the advanced Intel 3 process node.

Intel stated the chips are increasingly critical to power AI factories.

As part of the infrastructure overhaul, Intel is expanding its “automated track system to integrate disparate campus modules” into a single, “high-velocity production environment”.

Intel explained the investment programme would create permanent high-tech jobs alongside engaging specialised building and equipment installation tradespeople.

Naga Chandrasekaran, EVP and GM of Intel Foundry, said the investment is a “definitive commitment to maximising capacity” for foundry customers.

Upgrading the site “with state-of-the-art technology and installing cutting-edge tools” would help keep the Republic of Ireland “at the forefront of the world’s most advance manufacturing ecosystems while strengthening” Europe’s position in “the global technology landscape”, he said.

The move aligns with broader European Union tech-sovereignty goals to establish a resilient, domestic supply chain for leading-edge processors.

Intel invested more than €30 billion in the Republic of Ireland since establishing operations in 1989. The Leixlip site currently employs 4,900 people.

The company is trying to revitalise its chip manufacturing business and become a serious player in the booming foundry industry.

In April, it signed up to Elon Musk’s Terafab AI chip project to create processors for orbital data centres and robots.

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