Intel is moving to capture opportunities from the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) market by announcing a major capital raise through a common stock offering worth $20 billion. The company initially planned to raise $15 billion before later increasing the offering to $20 billion.

The raise comes as Intel's Data Center and AI business continues to grow rapidly, with revenue from that segment up 59% in the most recent quarter — a sign of rising demand for AI infrastructure and high-performance chip technology.

Intel raises $20 billion to support AI growth

Intel has not disclosed exactly how the full amount will be used, but has indicated the funds may go toward capital expenditures (CapEx) and working capital.

Intel had previously raised its 2026 capital expenditure estimate from $18 billion to more than $20 billion, with most of the spending directed toward chip manufacturing equipment and technology. The company expects capital spending to increase further in 2027.

The increased investment reflects Intel's push to expand its manufacturing capabilities to meet demand for chips used in AI, data centers, and next-generation computing systems.

Advanced Packaging: a critical technology for AI chips

One of the technologies Intel is prioritizing is Advanced Packaging, which connects multiple chips or silicon dies so they can function as a single integrated system.

This technology plays a key role in AI accelerators and high-performance chips, as it helps connect processing units to High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) — a fast memory type well suited to AI workloads that process large volumes of data.

Intel views Advanced Packaging as a major growth opportunity in the AI infrastructure era and has invested in expanding manufacturing capacity to meet future market demand. Intel's primary Advanced Packaging facility is Fab 9 in New Mexico, where the company previously announced an additional investment of roughly $3.5 billion to upgrade production lines.

Intel advances EMIB-T for next-generation chips

Intel has also added a new technology to its Advanced Packaging lineup: EMIB-T.

EMIB-T is designed to connect chip modules using smaller interconnects in place of traditional interposers, along with a power delivery approach that shortens the distance power needs to travel — helping improve chip efficiency. This makes the technology well suited to high-performance chips that demand both strong performance and power efficiency.

Intel begins using ASML's High NA EUV for chip production

Beyond Advanced Packaging, Intel continues to invest in advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology and has begun high-volume chip production using High NA EUV lithography machines from ASML.

High NA EUV enables more precise chip manufacturing and supports the creation of smaller transistors — a key factor in developing chips that are both more powerful and more power-efficient. Moving this technology into full production also opens the door for Intel to expand High NA EUV use to other fabrication facilities in the future.

That said, High NA EUV machines carry a very high cost — around $400 million per unit, based on 2025 figures — which is part of why Intel's large capital raise helps provide more flexibility for manufacturing investment.

Why Intel's investment matters for the AI industry

AI growth doesn't depend on software or models alone — it also relies on efficient AI infrastructure, from processing chips and memory to data center systems, manufacturing technology, and chip interconnects.

Intel's increased investment across AI, Data Center, Advanced Packaging, and semiconductor manufacturing is therefore part of the broader competition to meet growing demand for AI infrastructure. Advanced Packaging in particular plays a growing role in chiplet-based chip design and connecting multiple chip components together, enabling higher-performance computing systems that can meet the massive processing demands of AI workloads.

Summary

Intel's $20 billion capital raise is another significant signal of the intensifying competition in the AI and semiconductor industry. Intel is expected to direct the additional capital and expanded budget toward chip manufacturing, Advanced Packaging technology, AI infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing technology such as High NA EUV.

As the AI market continues to grow, the underlying infrastructure — AI chips, data centers, and Advanced Packaging — will play an increasingly important role, and Intel is accelerating its investment to position itself within the semiconductor supply chain for the AI era.