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Intel is planning to hold an IPO for its programmable chip business in the coming years
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The group, which was formed after the company's acquisition of Altera, hasn't had much success in getting FPGAs to catch on
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The standalone business will be temporarily led by current Intel exec Sandra Rivera
Intel intends to spin-off its Programmable Solutions Group (PSG), operating it as a standalone business unit from the start of 2024 and planning an initial public offering of the group within three years.
Independent operations for the chip unit are expected to begin January 1, 2024. Intel stalwart Sandra Rivera will take on the role of CEO at the PSG. She will continue to lead Intel’s Data Center and AI Group (DCAI) until a new head is found.
The PSG unit was initially founded out of Intel’s acquisition of semiconductor company Altera in 2015. New Street Research (NSR) noted that Intel had intended to leverage field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) as an “integrated universal accelerator” for x86 processors in networks, data centers and the edge, through the acquisition of Altera.
“This hasn’t played out much,” NSR noted. Only Microsoft, it said, among the top hyperscalers is known to have deployed discrete FPGAs in the data center. Other players have instead chosen smart network interface cards (NICs) and system-on-a-chip (SOC) silicon for virtualization and networking tasks.
“Outside of the datacenter, Intel has brought to market some integrated CPU/FPGA products, but they have met limited traction so far, and remain niche,” NSR said.
The firm also noted that Altera has seen its market share slip against AMD-owned rival Xilinx over "the last 20 years."
The PSG “will seek to expand its focus into embedded segments like automotive, industrial, aerospace and defense. The new entity plans to leverage Intel Foundry Services' (IFS) packaging technology and chiplets to quickly spin out new products for these market segments,” TIRIAS Research Principal Analyst Jim McGregor commented on LinkedIn.
“TIRIAS Research views the transaction as yet another strategic move by Intel to focus on its core business units and strengthen its financial position as it pushes to become an industry-leading foundry,” he concluded.