US technology firm Xilinx is to invest $40 million (€34.3 million) in expanding its Irish operations in a move that will lead to the creation of 100 new jobs for Dublin and Cork.

The semiconductor maker, which currently employs about 350 people in the Republic, established its European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Dublin in 1995. It also runs an R&D operation in Cork and has a small facility in Belfast employing 30 engineers.

Xilinx said it is to recruit 75 senior silicon and electronics engineering staff, with an additional 25 people to be hired across a number of business disciplines.

The company said the new investment is to support its research, development and engineering work for advanced technologies and products, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in areas such as 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), embedded vision and cloud computing.

“”Machine learning and AI will have a profound impact across a wide range of applications that impact society as a whole,” said Kevin Cooney, senior vice-president and managing director EMEA and global chief information officer. “Xilinx is uniquely positioned to accelerate the proliferation of these applications from edge to cloud.

“This investment by Xilinx in Ireland will fuel advanced product development and research that will enable ever more intelligent and efficient AI development and deployment,” he added.

Xilinx last month reported second quarter revenue of $620 million and net income of $168 million, slightly below market expectations.