History of Altera in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: April 14, 2025

Altera Corporation is a manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs), primarily focused on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology and system on a chip FPGAs. Headquartered in San Jose, California, it was founded in 1983. The company was acquired by Intel in 2015, but became independent again in 2025. Altera is a key player in the development and provision of programmable logic solutions used in various industries.

1983: Altera Corporation Founded

In 1983, Altera Corporation was founded as a manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs).

1983: Company Founding

In 1983, Altera was founded by Rodney Smith, Robert Hartmann, James Sansbury, and Paul Newhagen with $500,000 in seed money.

1984: Partnership with Intel

In 1984, Altera formed a partnership with Intel, licensing its programmable logic technology to Intel.

1988: Initial Public Offering

In 1988, Altera became a public company through an initial public offering (IPO).

1994: Acquisition of Intel's PLD Business

In 1994, Altera acquired the PLD business of Intel for $50 million.

1996: Accounting Errors related to options backdating

From 1996 to 2005, Altera made accounting errors related to options backdating.

2000: Acquisition of Designpro and Northwest Logic

In 2000, Altera acquired Designpro and Northwest Logic, providers of IP cores, to expand its design capabilities.

2005: Accounting Errors related to options backdating

From 1996 to 2005, Altera made accounting errors related to options backdating.

June 21, 2006: Restatement of Financial Results

On June 21, 2006, after an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Altera restated its financial results from 1996 to 2005 to correct accounting errors related to options backdating, and the CFO resigned.

December 2012: Shipment of First System on a Chip FPGA Devices

In December 2012, Altera announced the shipment of its first system on a chip FPGA devices using a fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) 28 nm chip manufacturing process, the Cyclone V SoC devices.

February 2013: Agreement to Use Intel's Foundry Services

In February 2013, Altera announced an agreement to use Intel's foundry services to produce its 14-nm node for future FPGAs, based on Intel's 14-nm tri-gate transistor technology.

May 2013: SDK for OpenCL Made Available

In May 2013, Altera made available SDK for OpenCL, enabling software programmers to access the high-performance capabilities of programmable logic devices.

December 2015: Intel Acquires Altera

In December 2015, Intel acquired Altera for $16.7 billion in cash, and Altera became Intel's Programmable Solutions Group (PSG).

December 28, 2015: Acquisition by Intel

On December 28, 2015, Altera was acquired by Intel and became the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG).

2015: Acquired by Intel

In 2015, Altera was acquired by Intel.

2020: Petition Denied

In 2020, Altera, under Intel, was denied the petition to overturn related regulations.

October 2023: Intel Announces PSG Spin-off

In October 2023, Intel announced its plan to spin off the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG) into a separate company.

February 2024: Altera Name and Branding Reestablished

In February 2024, Intel announced that the newly independent company would reestablish the Altera name and branding.

February 2024: Reestablishment of Altera Name and Branding

In February 2024, Intel announced that the newly independent company would reestablish the Altera name and branding.

2024: Majority of FPGA Devices Available as SoC Variants

As of 2024, the majority of Altera's FPGA devices are available as an SoC variant with an ARM hard processor system integrated as a single system on a chip.