Intel has announced that it will sell 51% of its chip business Altera to private equity firm Silver Lake, in a move that values Altera at $8.75 billion. After the deal, Altera will become an “operationally independent” company, while Intel will still own 49% of it. Leadership is also changing. Raghib Hussain will become the new CEO of Altera on May 5, replacing Sandra Rivera.
Focus Shift, Market Growth, and Altera’s Role in Intel’s Strategy
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan shared that the deal shows Intel’s goal to
"sharpen our focus, lower our expense structure, and strengthen our balance sheet."
He also added that Altera is doing well by shifting its product strategy toward the most profitable parts of the FPGA market.
Founded in 1983, Altera makes field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) special kinds of chips that are widely used in AI, robotics and communications. Intel had acquired Altera back in 2015 for $16.7 billion, and made it part of a business unit called Programmable Solutions Group (PSG).
In 2023, Intel had already announced plans to spin off PSG into a separate company and aim for an IPO within three years, while keeping control. That plan now moves forward with this deal. FPGA demand is growing fast. One report estimates the FPGA market could rise from $12.1 billion in 2023 to $25.8 billion by 2029. In the 2024 fiscal year alone, Altera made $1.54 billion in revenue. This transaction is expected to officially close in the second half of 2025.
