Intel has launched Altera as its stand-alone field-programmable gate array (FPGA) company.

FPGAs are integrated circuits that customers can reconfigure to specific use case requirements.

Altera, led by CEO Sandra Rivera and COO Shannon Poulin, will priroitise end-to-end FPGAs, accessible artificial intelligence (AI), software innovation and ensuring supply resilience, according to the company.

Rivera emphasised Altera’s commitment to reinvigorating the FPGA market, stating: “As customers deal with increasingly complex technological challenges and work to differentiate themselves, we have an opportunity to deliver programmable solutions and accessible AI across various market segments.”

Altera’s expanded portfolio and strategic road map are designed to meet the growing demands of FPGA markets in cloud, network and edge computing.

The company aims to enhance its Quartus Prime software and integrate AI capabilities, providing solutions to the challenges posed by the rise of AI across industries.

Last week, Intel announced a milestone in its bid to reclaim the top spot in advanced chip manufacturing, revealing that Microsoft has chosen its services for chip manufacturing.

The US chipmaker is optimistic about surpassing its main rival, TSMC, by 2025.

Intel plans to regain the position of producing the world’s fastest chips from TSMC later this year, leveraging its Intel 18A manufacturing technology. The company aims to extend this lead into 2026 by introducing its new technology, Intel 14A.

Altera’s products cater to a diverse range of markets including networking, communications infrastructure and low-power embedded applications. The company has introduced several products:

• Now in volume production, Agilex 9 boasts the industry’s fastest data converters, ideal for radar and military-aerospace applications with high-bandwidth mixed-signal FPGAs.
  
• Agilex 7 F-series and I-series devices are tailored for high-bandwidth compute applications like data centres, networking and defence.
  
• Agilex 5 delivers the only FPGA fabric infused with AI, targeting embedded and edge applications.
  
• Positioned as a low-power line of FPGAs, the upcoming Agilex 3 aims to serve low-complexity functions for cloud, communications and intelligent edge applications.