Intel NASDAQ:INTC, a U.S. chipmaker seeking to rebuild its manufacturing position, is investing 5 billion ($5.7 billion) to expand its Leixlip campus near Dublin as it pushes for a larger role in the AI infrastructure boom. The investment is expected to increase production capacity for data-center processors, including Intel's flagship Xeon server chips, while also supporting additional research and development work. Intel said the expansion forms part of its effort to improve deliveries to customers of Intel Foundry, the company's chip-manufacturing division that produces semiconductors for other technology businesses. Executive Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran indicated that the project should support Intel's broader foundry strategy as the company attempts to compete more effectively with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. NYSE:TSM, a major contract chip producer.

Intel remains in the early stages of securing customers for its foundry operation following several earlier setbacks. President Donald Trump said in June that Apple NASDAQ:AAPL, a consumer technology company, would work with Intel to design and manufacture semiconductors in the United States, although the source noted that the potential arrangement has not yet materialized. A deal with Apple could possibly help Intel attract additional foundry customers and strengthen confidence in its manufacturing turnaround. Intel also paid $14.2 billion in April to regain ownership of half of the Irish facility that it had previously sold to Apollo Global Management NYSE:APO, an alternative asset manager. Investors may view that transaction, together with the latest expansion, as a sign that Intel expects the Leixlip plant and its processor portfolio to play a larger role in rising AI-related infrastructure spending.

Intel employs nearly 5,000 people in Ireland, where it established its European hub in 1989 and opened its first plant in 1993. The new investment is expected to create several hundred jobs in Leixlip through upgrades to existing fabrication facilities and the installation of additional manufacturing equipment. The spending could also provide support for Ireland's technology sector, which includes Apple, Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META, a technology company investing in AI-driven efficiencies, and Microsoft (MSFT), a software and cloud-computing company. However, the development also comes as Ireland faces concerns over its reliance on a small number of multinational companies, with three businesses accounting for almost half of the country's corporate tax receipts. For investors, Intel's expansion may represent another step in its attempted manufacturing recovery while potentially supporting broader efforts in Europe and the United States to reduce semiconductor supply dependence on Taiwan and other overseas production centers.