Altera files confidentially for IPO, targets potential listing worth over $2 billion

Altera, the San Jose-based programmable logic chipmaker, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering that could raise more than $2 billion. The move marks a full-circle moment for a company that first went public in 1988, got absorbed by Intel in 2015, and is now clawing its way back to standalone status under the stewardship of Silver Lake. The listing is expected by late 2026, with Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley tapped to underwrite the deal. From Intel’s portfolio to Silver Lake’s playbook Founded in 1983, the company pioneered field-programmable gate arrays, the flexible chips that let engineers reprogram hardware after manufacturing. It went public five years later and built a solid business serving telecom, aerospace, defense, and industrial customers. In 2015, the chip giant acquired Altera for roughly $16.7 billion, folding its programmable logic technology into Intel’s broader product lineup. Altera was separated back out as a standalone entity during 2024-2025. Silver Lake, the tech-focused private equity firm, acquired a 51% controlling stake in April 2025 for $4.46 billion. That transaction valued the entire company at $8.75 billion, roughly ha...