Intel Sold Majority Stake in Altera for $4.46 Billion

Intel offloaded a 51% stake in its programmable chip business, Altera, to private equity firm Silver Lake. The sale was positioned by Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan as part of a strategy to sharpen its focus.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025 and values Altera at $8.75 billion. While Altera will operate as an independent company, Intel will retain a 49% stake and remain a strategic partner. Altera, which designs field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), was acquired by Intel in 2015 for nearly $17 billion. Altera generated $1.54 billion in revenue last year but posted an operating loss of $615 million.

While the stake sale marks a sharp decline in its valuation, Intel remains optimistic, explaining the move will give the business the operational freedom to focus on fast-growing AI-driven sectors including edge computing and robotics. Along with the deal, Intel revealed Altera CEO Sandra Rivera would step down and Raghib Hussain, a former executive at Marvell, would take the helm on 5 May.

Discussing the prospects of Altera, Hussain noted that with clarity of focus as an independent company, it is well-positioned to build on its momentum and deliver breakthrough FPGA-based solutions that are shaping the future of computing driven by AI. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan added the deal reflects their commitment to sharpening focus, lowering expense structure, and strengthening the balance sheet.