Language
Country/Area
No result found
From Intel to Independence: How did Altera undergo a shocking transformation and regain its life?
Since its founding in 1983, Altera Corporation, headquartered in San Jose, California, has been a leader in programmable logic devices (PLDs). The company's founders, including veterans of the semiconductor industry, founded the company with $500,000 in start-up capital with the goal of developing "changeable" chips. Altra's name is a play on words that mean "changing feasibility," reflecting the core qualities of its products.
Altra's success began with its initial public offering (IPO) in 1988, which helped it further expand its market.
With the continuous advancement of technology, Altera acquired Designpro and Northwest Logic, which provided IP cores, in 2000 and began to expand its design capabilities and move towards providing complete system-on-chip solutions. In 2012, Altera launched the first system-on-chip (SoC) FPGA device based on fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) technology, ushering in a new era of FPGA devices tightly integrated with the ARM architecture.
Despite being acquired by Intel in 2015 and becoming part of its Programmable Solutions Group, Altera has never stopped innovating. In October 2023, Intel decided to spin off the Programmable Solutions Group and restore Altera's independent identity, a move that marked another major turning point in the company's history.
"Our goal is to leverage the potential of FPGAs to reshape the industry landscape. This is not only the expectation of our employees and shareholders, but also an inevitable trend of technological advancement."
Reshape the industry characteristics
Altra's main product lines include the Agilex FPGA series and its predecessors, the Stratix, Arria, and Cyclone series, as well as the MAX series of non-volatile FPGAs. These products are widely used in wireless communications, industrial automation, video surveillance, automotive and medical equipment markets, and continue to provide services to various industries.
Looking back, Altera has benefited greatly from its many collaborations with Intel. In 1984, Altera formed a PLD technology licensing partnership with Intel, and in 1994 it acquired Intel's PLD business for US$50 million. During this period, the company gradually used Intel's semiconductor technology to enhance the competitiveness of its own products.
"As FPGA technology matured, we began to explore the possibilities of integrating these programmable logic devices with powerful processor architectures."
Future Outlook
Altra is actively preparing to restart its independent brand image and plans to use its advanced technologies, such as Nios V embedded soft-core processor and Quartus Prime design software, to meet the growing market demand. In addition, Altera will focus on developing SoC FPGAs and various software tools to support high-performance applications to further enhance its market position.
In 2024, as the company returns to the market, Altra will bring more innovative products to meet new challenges and opportunities. This is not only the inevitable path for corporate transformation, but also a transformation journey for the entire industry.
"With Altera's independence again, we are once again at the starting point of changing the industry. What new value can we create?"
Conclusion
Altra's transformation journey is full of challenges and opportunities, and every major decision has brought significant impact. As an independent entity, Altera looks forward to the future with a fresh attitude. Let us wait and see how this company will shape the future of programmable logic devices.
