Intel wraps up 2015 with an acquistition as the chip manufacturer has completed the acquisition of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) provider Altera Corporation.
This acquisition, valued at around USD16.7 billion, will see Altera operate as a new business unit called the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) led by Altera veteran Dan McNamara. Intel has promised that there will be a smooth transition for current Altera customers. Intel has also said that they will continue to support the future product development of Altera’s many products, ranging from FPGA to ARM-based SoC.
As mentioned by the Wall Street Journal, many technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, are currently using Intel Xeon that are bolstered by Altera’s FPGA technology for computational work. This merger allows Intel to sell the two pieces together starting next year, with long term projects being to combine the tech behind Xeon and FPGA into a single chip.
“Altera is now part of Intel, and together we will make the next generation of semiconductors not only better but able to do more. We will apply Moore’s Law to grow today’s FPGA business, and we’ll invent new products that make amazing experiences of the future possible – experiences like autonomous driving and machine learning,” says Brain Krzanich, CEO of Intel.
Source : Intel Newsroom, Wall Street Journal
