Intel’s 2015 purchase of Altera was officially valued at approximately $16.7 billion, not exactly $17 billion. Intel completed the acquisition on December 28, 2015. A decade later, it sold a 51% controlling stake to Silver Lake; after that deal closed on September 12, 2025, Intel retained 49%.
How much did Intel pay for Altera?
On June 1, 2015, Intel and Altera announced a definitive agreement under which Intel would acquire Altera for $54 per share in cash. Intel put the transaction’s value at approximately $16.7 billion. The “$17 billion” headline is a rounded version of that announced figure, not a separate valuation.
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Intel completed the acquisition on December 28, 2015. Intel’s completion announcement confirmed the closing.
Why did Intel acquire Altera?
Altera made field-programmable gate arrays, or FPGAs: semiconductor chips that can be configured for particular tasks after manufacture. Intel’s stated rationale was to combine its manufacturing and product capabilities with Altera’s programmable-chip business. This was a semiconductor-industry acquisition, not a purchase of a consumer-electronics brand.
#1 Best Overall
- Designed for students and beginners looking to understand Digital Logic, fundamentals of FPGAs
- Features the Xilinx Artix 7 FPGA compatible with Vivado Design Suite WebPACK Edition (free download available from Xilinx)
- On board user interfaces include 16 user switches, 16 LEDs, 5 user pushbuttons, and a
- Expansion opportunities with four Pmod ports including 3 standard 12-pin Pmod ports and 1 dual
- Does NOT ship with micro USB cable
Intel later described Altera as a standalone FPGA company and, in a February 29, 2024 announcement, cited an FPGA market opportunity of more than $55 billion. That was Intel’s stated market-opportunity estimate at the time, not a measure of Altera’s revenue or the acquisition price.
Did Intel sell Altera, and who owns it now?
Yes. On April 14, 2025, Intel announced an agreement to sell a 51% controlling stake in Altera to Silver Lake. Intel reported an implied enterprise value of $8.75 billion for the business in that transaction. The deal closed on September 12, 2025: Silver Lake acquired 51%, and Intel retained 49%.
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- Arty A7 comes in two FPGA variants: Arty A7-35T features Xilinx XC7A35TICSG324-1L. Arty A7-100T features the larger Xilinx XC7A100TCSG324-1.
- Internal clock speeds exceeding 450MHz, On-chip analog-to-digital converter (XADC), Programmable over JTAG and Quad-SPI Flash
- 256MB DDR3L with a 16-bit bus @ 667MHz, 16MB Quad-SPI Flash, USB-JTAG Programming circuitry, Powered from USB or any 7V-15V source
- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, USB-UART Bridge
- 4 Switches, 4 Buttons, 1 Reset Button, 4 LEDs, 4 RGB LEDs, 4 Pmod connectors, shield connector
So Altera is no longer wholly owned by Intel. Silver Lake holds the majority stake, while Intel remains a significant minority owner.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow the 2015 acquisition and 2025 stake sale differ
| Detail | Intel acquisition, 2015 | Silver Lake stake sale, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement | June 1, 2015 | April 14, 2025 |
| Closing | December 28, 2015 | September 12, 2025 |
| Ownership change | Intel acquired Altera | Silver Lake acquired 51%; Intel retained 49% |
| Reported value | Approximately $16.7 billion for the acquisition | $8.75 billion implied enterprise value for Altera in the stake transaction |
| Consideration structure | $54 per share in cash | The cited announcement reports an implied enterprise value; it does not state a per-share cash price |
| Strategic context | Intel aimed to combine its manufacturing and product capabilities with Altera’s FPGA business | Intel said the sale reflected a focus on sharpening priorities, lowering expenses and strengthening its balance sheet |
The two valuations are not directly comparable. The 2015 figure valued Intel’s acquisition of the whole company; the 2025 figure is an implied enterprise value reported in connection with a majority-stake transaction. They describe different deals, ownership changes and valuation measures.
Rank #3
- Altera Cyclone IV FPGA includes 6,000 Logic Elements with two clock multipliers. The Cyclone IV FPGA is the perfect balance of inexpensive cost versus plentiful logic cells, 20KBytes of SRAM, and General Purpose Input/Output pins. This is a great board to learn how to program FPGA's.
- Built in programmer cable allows configuring the FPGA with a single USB-C cable. The DPL can be powered from the USB cable or from the Barrel Connector. A separate JTAG header can also be used to program the FPGA using a compatible USB Blaster cable.
- 6x6 LED Array allows character and animations to be displayed at ultra fast speed. LED blocks can be individually turned on/off to allow LED signals to be used as I/O's
- 70 Inputs/Outputs originating at the FPGA are available at Stackable Headers organized around the edge of the board. The user can configure these I/O's using the FPGA project code.
- The DPL contains two oscillators, 66MHz and 100MHz. The 66MHz oscillator is used to provide clocking for the EPT ActiveHost USB communications core. The 100MHz oscillator can be used by the user clocked up using one of the onboard Clock-DLL modules.
What Intel said about the 2025 sale
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said: “Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sharpening our focus, lowering our expense structure and strengthening our balance sheet.” The statement accompanied Intel’s April 14, 2025 announcement of the Silver Lake agreement.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Intel Cyclone V SX SoC—5CSXFC6D6F31C6N
- 110K LEs, 41509 ALMs
- 5,761 Kbits embedded memory
- 6 FPGA PLLs and 3 HPS PLLs
- 2 Hard Memory Controllers
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- The best way to get started with FPGAs: Using a simple board with projects that build on eachother, now anyone can get started with FPGA development!
- Fun peripherals available: With 4 LEDs, 4 push-buttons, 7-segment display, USB connector, a VGA connector, and a PMOD (for expansion) you can have dozens of fun projects available to you out of the box!
- Works with Verilog and VHDL: No matter which programming language you want to get started with, the Go Board will work for you!
- No extra device required: Simply plug the Go Board into a USB port and go! Getting started with FPGAs has never been easier.
- Works with all operating systems: Windows, Mac, Linux
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