(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. is spending €5 billion ($5.7 billion) to expand its plant in Ireland, as the chipmaker attempts to regain its manufacturing dominance for the AI boom.
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The investment will expand capacity at the Leixlip campus on the outskirts of Dublin as part of Intel's drive to increase output of data center processors, Intel said in a statement. It will scale capacity of products such as the company's flagship Xeon server processors as well as advancing research and development activities.
It's part of a plan to boost delivery to Intel foundry customers, Naga Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President, said in a statement, referring to the firm's manufacturing arm that makes microchips for other tech companies. The division is a key piece of a comeback strategy stepping up competition with the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The company is in the early stages of trying to line up clients for the foundry business after past false starts. US President Donald Trump said in June that the chipmaker will work with Apple Inc. to design and produce semiconductors on American soil. If such a deal materialized, it could potentially attract more clients to Intel.
Intel paid $14.2 billion to buy back half of the Irish plant in April that it had previously sold to Apollo Global Management, reflecting the chipmaker's growing confidence in its business — and the belief that its products can play a bigger role in the boom in spending on AI infrastructure.
The capital injection into the Leixlip campus is also a boon for Ireland which relies heavily on foreign direct investment from tech firms. Just three companies make up almost half of the country's corporate tax intake, according to analysis by the Irish fiscal watchdog.
Concerns about Ireland's reliance on a small number of multinationals have been exacerbated in recent years, as the Trump administration criticized Ireland, saying it ran a surplus at the US's expense and vowing to re-shore profits from US firms as part of its "America first" policy.
"With respect to this investment, I think the US government realizes that Intel's a global company and we will have to continue to invest both in our US resources as well as other areas," Chandrasekaran told reporters.