Intel to invest 5 billion euro upgrading its Leixlip, Ireland chip fab

Intel said on July 13, 2026 that it will invest about 5 billion euro, roughly $5.7 billion, to upgrade its Leixlip, Ireland campus for production of Xeon 6 and next-generation server processors.

The money will modernize existing fabrication lines and install new leading-edge equipment rather than build new plants, expanding capacity on the Intel 3 process node as demand from AI and high-performance computing strains supply. Ireland is a lead manufacturing site for the Intel 3 node, and the spend amounts to about 30% of Intel’s planned 2026 capital expenditure.

The move is a bet by Intel Foundry, the company’s contract-manufacturing arm, that European capacity will pay off as customers seek supply outside Asia. Naga Chandrasekaran, Intel executive vice president and chief technology officer, said the investment ‘represents a definitive commitment to maximize capacity at our Leixlip campus.’

The expansion is expected to add several hundred permanent high-tech jobs to the roughly 4,900 people Intel already employs in Ireland, along with thousands of construction and equipment-installation roles. Intel has invested more than 30 billion euro in the country since 1989.

Intel expects the bulk of the investment to be completed by the end of 2027. Separately, in a deal announced in April, Intel is repurchasing the 49% stake it did not own in the Fab 34 joint venture at the same site for $14.2 billion.

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the expansion ‘strengthens Ireland’s role in securing resilient semiconductor supply chains.’ Whether the upgraded lines come online on schedule will test Intel’s promise to hold its ground in the AI chip race.