TECHNOLOGY — Intel announced on July 13 that it will invest an additional €5 billion in Ireland to upgrade its manufacturing campus in Leixlip, expand Xeon server processor capacity, and strengthen research and development operations.

The company said the investment will support growing demand related to artificial intelligence infrastructure while advancing its Intel Foundry manufacturing business.

Intel Executive Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran said the investment would strengthen the strategic role of the Ireland facility within the company’s global advanced manufacturing network and expand Intel Foundry’s ability to serve external customers.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin described the investment as a significant vote of confidence in Ireland and its technology manufacturing sector.

As AI data centers continue to expand, demand for server processors has drawn increased industry attention. Xeon processors remain a core part of Intel’s data center business and are a key focus of the Leixlip expansion.

Intel has also been expanding its Foundry business, seeking to make its manufacturing capabilities available to more external customers and increase its presence in the global semiconductor manufacturing market.

The growth of AI agents and other artificial intelligence software tools has also increased attention on server CPU demand. While GPUs remain central to AI model training, CPUs continue to play an important role in task orchestration, code execution, and system management.

The new investment follows Intel’s recent changes to its manufacturing assets in Ireland. In April, the company spent $14.2 billion to repurchase a 50% stake in the Leixlip facility from Apollo Global Management.

Intel has operated in Ireland since 1989 and currently employs nearly 5,000 people in the country. The company said the latest investment is expected to create several hundred additional jobs in Leixlip.