Intel plans to IPO its FPGA business

Business news | October 4, 2023

By Peter Clarke

Chip company Intel has announced a plan to take its programmable solutions group (PSG) public via an IPO. Initially, PSG will operate as a wholly-owned but separate business from January 1, 2024.

Intel said it expects to report PSG as a separate business unit when it releases first-quarter 2024 financials. The company added that over the following two to three years, it intends to conduct an IPO for PSG and may explore opportunities with private investors to “accelerate the business’s growth,” with Intel retaining a majority stake.

Intel also said PSG would receive its silicon from Intel Foundry Services as an external customer.

It was also announced that Sandra Rivera, executive vice president at Intel, will assume leadership of PSG as CEO and Shannon Poulin has been named chief operating officer.

Intel’s move to make PSG as separate business unit follows the raising of funds via an IPO for the Mobileye business in 2022, as well as investments from Bain Capital and TSMC in Intel’s IMS Nanofabrication subsidiary in 2023. Intel described these moves as emphasizing Intel’s “focus on advancing its IDM 2.0 strategy.”

Intel acquired programmable chip company Altera Corp. in December 2015 for US$16.7 billion.

“Our intention to establish PSG as a standalone business and pursue an IPO is another example of how we are consistently unlocking more value for our stakeholders. This will give PSG the independence it needs to keep growing share in the FPGA market, differentiating itself with capacity and supply resilience from IFS, and allowing Intel product teams to focus on our core business and long-term strategy,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, in a statement. He added “Sandra has proven herself by reinvigorating DCAI [data center artificial intelligence], placing it on a path for success. I am confident she will bring PSG that same dedication, energy and customer commitment.”