Intel to invest €5bn in Leixlip campus on next-generation chips to power AI
Intel is to invest €5 billion in its Irish operations, creating hundreds of high-tech jobs at its Leixlip campus as the company latches on to demand for next-generation chips to power artificial intelligence (AI).
The company said it will create several hundred new jobs at its Irish base, as well as thousands of construction jobs.
The investment, which is roughly 30% of the company’s entire capital expenditure for the year, will be used to upgrade its advanced manufacturing capabilities. This will include existing fabrication facilities, the installation of new equipment and the upskilling of staff at the campus.
Intel said that global demand for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing is driving the need for its expansion in Ireland.
The €5bn expansion programme started earlier this year and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
“This €5bn 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 of Intel Foundry, said.
He added: “by investing in our existing fabs with state-of-the-art technology and installing cutting-edge tools, we are not just increasing output of critical products like Xeon 6 and next gen Intel Xeon processors built on Intel 3, we are ensuring that Ireland remains at the forefront of the world’s most advanced manufacturing ecosystems, while strengthening the region’s role in the global technology landscape.”
Intel 3 products made in Ireland will be for the global market, but Chandrasekaran said the investment would also strengthen Europe’s chip supply chain.
“Intel 3 is the most advanced technology that is manufactured in Europe. What this provides is a technology sovereignty within the EU that the EU is targeting, and it provides more output and as a result a supply chain resiliency for Europe,” Chandrasekaran said.
Intel, which employs just under 5,000 people in Ireland, announced last year that it would cut more than 20 per cent of its staff globally, with an unspecified number of cuts in Ireland.
However, its fortunes have begun to turn around. The growth of AI is fuelling the latest investment, Intel said, as demand for its chips begins to increase. The €5 billion it is ploughing into the Irish campus will help Intel deliver the Xeon 6 chip, and also support the next-generation Intel Xeon built on its Intel 3 node.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the investment as a “powerful vote of confidence in Ireland, our skills base and our position at the heart of Europe’s most advanced manufacturing ecosystem”.
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