Altera Targets Mid-20% Growth Fueled by AI and Robotics, CEO Says

Altera, the programmable chipmaker spun out from Intel, is experiencing a significant business turnaround with annual growth projected in the mid-20% range and operating income more than doubling, Chief Executive Raghib Hussain told Reuters in a recent interview. The growth is reportedly driven by resurgent demand for its chips in the artificial intelligence and robotics sectors as the company positions itself for a future public offering.

Financial Turnaround

Altera's current performance marks a sharp reversal from its recent past. After growing more than 20% last year, the company anticipates mid-20% growth again this year, Hussain said. As a private company, Altera does not disclose specific revenue figures.

This recovery follows a period of decline under its former parent company. Intel had reported Altera's revenue fell to $1.5 billion in 2024, a steep drop from $2.9 billion in 2023. The decline was attributed to a market-wide shift toward GPU purchases for AI and a loss of market share to its primary competitor, AMD-owned Xilinx.

Strategic Focus on AI and Robotics

Under its new leadership, Altera is focusing on the critical role its field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) play alongside GPUs in AI and robotics systems. Hussain described the relationship by an analogy: "If GPU is the brain, the FPGAs are the nervous system," highlighting their use for connectivity, data pre-processing, and sensor fusion.

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Hussain projected a significant market opportunity in robotics, estimating that FPGA content of $100 to several hundred dollars per robot could create a market worth "100 billion to several hundred billion dollars" over the next decade.

Operational Independence and Supply Chain

Altera became a standalone company last September after Intel sold a 51% stake to private equity firm Silver Lake for $4.46 billion, in a deal that valued Altera at $8.75 billion. Intel maintains a 49% stake.

Since the spin-off, Altera has rapidly established its independence, reducing its reliance on transition service agreements with Intel from 125 down to just 15. The company is also executing on its product roadmap, producing working prototypes of six new chips last year. To secure its supply chain, Altera manufactures chips with both Intel Foundry and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and is developing new products on TSMC's advanced 2-nanometer and 3-nanometer processes.