March 01, 2024 – In a significant move, Intel has announced the formation of a wholly-owned and independently operated FPGA company, “Altera,” following the establishment and independent accounting of Intel Foundry.
Known for inventing the world’s first programmable logic device, particularly renowned for its FPGA technology, Altera was acquired by Intel in 2015 for $16.7 billion, becoming its Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) division. This acquisition marked the largest in Intel’s history.
In recent years, AMD completed its acquisition of Xilinx, another FPGA giant, positioning itself as a strong competitor to Intel in this space.
As part of its transition to independent operations, Altera has unveiled a new brand identity. The company’s CEO, Sandra Rivera, and COO, Shannon Poulin, have also outlined a strategic plan to maintain leadership in the FPGA market, which is valued at over $55 billion.
By integrating AI capabilities and other initiatives, Altera aims to further enhance its product portfolio to meet the growing and demanding needs of various industries, including communications, cloud, data centers, embedded systems, industrial, and automotive.
Leveraging its state-of-the-art Quartus Prime software, along with AI suites and tools like OpenVINO that can generate optimized IP based on standard frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch, Altera is taking a comprehensive approach to address the new complexities and opportunities presented by AI across various industries. The company is also keeping pace with dynamically evolving industry standards such as PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, and 6G wireless networks.
Currently, Altera’s key new product offerings include:
Agilex 9: Now in mass production, Agilex 9 offers industry-leading data converters, ideal for applications requiring high-bandwidth mixed-signal FPGAs.
Agilex 7 F/I Series: Already in production, this series delivers up to twice the performance-per-watt, specifically designed for high-bandwidth computing applications like data centers and networks.
Agilex 5: Widely available, Agilex 5 is the industry’s first FPGA with embedded AI modules, providing leading performance for embedded edge applications and up to 1.6x higher performance per watt.
Agilex 3: Coming soon, this FPGA series will offer leading, low-power solutions for low-complexity functions in cloud computing, communications, and intelligent edge applications.
