Semiconductor company Altera is preparing for a major initial public offering that could raise more than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the plans.
The San Jose-based chipmaker is backed by private-equity firm Silver Lake and Intel, and a listing could take place as early as 2026. However, the final timing, size and structure of the offering could still change.
Banks including Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are reportedly working on the potential IPO.
Altera specializes in field-programmable gate arrays, or FPGAs — chips that can be reconfigured after manufacturing for specialized computing workloads. These processors are widely used across data centers, networking, industrial systems, telecommunications and increasingly AI-related applications.
Intel originally acquired Altera for approximately $16.7 billion in 2015. The business later became a standalone company again as Intel moved to simplify its operations and strengthen its financial position.
In 2025, Intel agreed to sell a 51% stake in Altera to Silver Lake for approximately $4.46 billion, valuing the business at around $8.75 billion. Intel retained the remaining 49% ownership stake.
Altera CEO Raghib Hussain has previously highlighted artificial intelligence, robotics and other high-performance computing markets as important growth opportunities for the company.
The potential IPO arrives during a strong year for U.S. public listings. Companies have already raised record amounts through IPOs in 2026 as investors continue showing strong appetite for technology and AI-related businesses.
A successful Altera listing could also be significant for Intel. Selling shares through an IPO could eventually help Intel monetize part of its remaining stake while allowing Altera to access public capital independently.
The company has not yet announced a final IPO valuation, share price or listing date, meaning the current plans remain preliminary.
