Intel announced a $15 billion stock offering Monday, Aug. 10, to bankroll expanded chip manufacturing and AI infrastructure, a move that funnels fresh capital toward the company's flagship Hillsboro campuses even as thousands of local workers have lost their jobs over the past two years.
The offering could grow to $17.25 billion if underwriters exercise a 30-day option to buy additional shares, according to Intel's newsroom announcement. Intel said the proceeds would go toward capital expenditures and working capital, citing customer demand for AI compute and growth in advanced packaging and external wafer production.
Those are exactly the capabilities housed at Intel's D1X fab complex at Gordon Moore Park in Hillsboro, the only site where the company develops leading-edge process technology. The campus holds Intel's High-NA EUV lithography machines, including the first ASML Twinscan EXE:5200B system delivered anywhere in the world, Tom's Hardware reported in its analysis of Intel's fab roadmap.
Big money, fewer workers
Intel remains Hillsboro's largest employer with about 16,000 workers in Washington County. But that figure is down from roughly 23,000 as recently as 2024, OregonLive reported in July. The company announced fresh data center group layoffs in late July 2026, following more than 3,000 Oregon job losses in 2025 alone.
City officials have reported that 78% of Oregon's semiconductor workers are employed in Hillsboro, with 89% of the city's manufacturing jobs tied to high-tech industries.
The tension between record capital spending and ongoing workforce reductions drew public criticism the same day. Barbara Dudley, founder of the Oregon Working Families Party, wrote in a letter published in The Oregonian on Aug. 10 that Intel received $1.86 billion in federal CHIPS Act funding for Oregon operations and $115 million from the state's Oregon CHIPS Fund, yet has laid off nearly 9,000 workers instead of creating the 10,000 jobs it promised.
Revenue surge fuels the raise
Intel's stock has more than quadrupled over the past year, climbing from about $23 per share to $101.65 before falling more than 3% in premarket trading Monday on news of the dilution, Quartz reported.
The offering follows Intel's strongest quarter in more than 15 years. Total Q2 2026 revenue hit $16.1 billion, up 25% year over year, while the data center and AI segment posted $6.3 billion in revenue, a 59% jump. In July, Intel raised its 2026 capital spending target to more than $20 billion from $18 billion.
"We are meaningfully increasing our investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates," CFO David Zinsner said during Intel's July 23 earnings call, as reported by OregonLive. The outlet noted that Oregon stands to benefit, given that Intel develops each new generation of manufacturing technology there.
What's next for Hillsboro
Intel's next-generation 14A chip process is being developed at the D1X complex, with risk production targeted for 2028 and high-volume manufacturing for 2029. Tesla has signed on as the first publicly confirmed external customer for the node.
A critical near-term milestone is the release of a v0.9 process design kit to external customers, targeted for October 2026, which could trigger additional firm commitments.
Intel began permitting work in February 2024 for a multibillion-dollar expansion of Gordon Moore Park after receiving an air quality permit, though no construction start date has been announced. A federal tax credit of 35% for advanced manufacturing investment applies only to fab construction that begins before Dec. 31, 2026, creating a year-end deadline for Intel to break ground if it wants that subsidy.
