Intel has launched a €5 billion ($5.7 billion) capital investment to upgrade its Leixlip campus in County Kildare, aiming to boost production capacity for processors powering high-performance AI computers. The expansion, which began this year, is expected to be largely completed by late 2027 and represents roughly 30 percent of Intel's planned $17 billion in capital expenditure for 2026.
The project involves upgrading existing fabrication facilities, installing new equipment, and linking the plant to other on-site factories to advance research and development. Intel, which currently employs 4,900 people in Ireland, said the expansion will create several hundred permanent positions and thousands of construction jobs.
The investment follows a period of strategic shifts for the chipmaker, which abandoned plans for a €30 billion plant in Magdeburg. Intel has invested more than €30 billion in Ireland since 1989. Last year, the U.S. government took a 10 percent stake in the company, and Intel recently repurchased a 49 percent joint-venture interest from Apollo Global Management for $14.2 billion.