Intel says it will invest five billion euros in Ireland

Intel said it will invest five billion euros, or $5.8 billion, in Ireland to expand production of advanced processors as demand linked to artificial intelligence grows.

The US semiconductor company said the investment would increase manufacturing capacity at its Irish operations for Intel Xeon 6 processors and future generations of chips used in data centres and high-performance computing.

Intel said the project would expand existing production, increase research and development, and make greater use of current clean-room facilities. The company said the investment would help strengthen Europe's semiconductor supply chain and position Ireland as a leading European production hub.

The announcement followed Intel's April report of better-than-expected quarterly results. The company posted first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, up seven percent from a year earlier, while demand for AI infrastructure remained strong.

Intel has faced pressure after losing ground to rivals in the AI market. The company has tried to benefit from demand for AI agents, which are software systems able to carry out sequences of tasks autonomously.

Intel argues that wider use of such systems could increase demand for its central processing units, which power many enterprise servers, alongside graphics processing units that dominate AI training and are widely used in large data centres. The company said the Ireland investment would also support the European Union's goal of strengthening technological sovereignty through a more resilient domestic supply of advanced processors.