Intel-Backed Altera Prepares $2 Billion-Plus IPO As Semiconductor Listings Rebound

Altera, the programmable-chip maker backed by private-equity firm Silver Lake and Intel, is preparing for an initial public offering that could raise more than $2 billion as early as this year, potentially making it one of the largest U.S. semiconductor listings since Arm Holdings returned to public markets in 2023.

The San Jose, California-based company is expected to confidentially file for an IPO in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The listing could come as early as this year, although the timing and size of the offering remain subject to change.

Silver Lake has selected Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley as potential underwriters, three people familiar with the discussions said. The final order of the banks in the underwriting lineup has not yet been determined.

If completed, the offering would mark Altera’s return to the public markets after a decade under Intel and provide an early test of the value created since Silver Lake took control of the business.

The potential deal also comes as U.S. IPO activity accelerates sharply. U.S. initial public offerings, excluding special-purpose acquisition companies, raised a record $137 billion through the end of August, according to Dealogic.

Altera’s offering could add to a pipeline of large technology listings. Anthropic could go public as soon as October and is expected to raise about $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Such a transaction would exceed the reported $75 billion SpaceX raise and potentially push total U.S. IPO proceeds beyond the roughly $156 billion record set in 2021.

From Intel Division to IPO Candidate

Altera’s path to the public markets began with Intel’s $16.7 billion acquisition of the company in 2015. The business became fully standalone last September after Intel agreed to sell a 51% stake to Silver Lake for $4.46 billion, valuing Altera at $8.75 billion. Intel retained a 49% stake.

Silver Lake committed roughly $3.3 billion in equity to the transaction alongside Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, which co-invested in the acquisition.

An IPO at a valuation substantially above the $8.75 billion transaction value would therefore represent a rapid increase in Altera’s implied worth under its new ownership structure.

The potential listing also indicates the appeal of separating specialized semiconductor businesses from larger chip companies as investors place greater value on individual growth opportunities.

Altera makes programmable chips that can be adapted for different applications rather than being designed for a single fixed function. Its products are used in data centers, telecommunications networks, industrial equipment, aerospace and defense systems, as well as artificial intelligence applications.

The company has increasingly emphasized AI and robotics as potential growth markets.

Chief Executive Raghib Hussain said in a July interview with Reuters that Altera was “preparing for an eventual public listing” as it pursued opportunities in artificial intelligence and robotics.

The planned IPO would give public-market investors direct exposure to Altera’s growth prospects at a time when demand for specialized computing infrastructure is expanding, while also providing a market-based valuation for a company that spent most of the past decade inside Intel.

A Test for Intel’s Restructuring

The listing is equally relevant to Intel, which continues to undergo a sweeping restructuring under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Since taking over in 2025, Tan has pursued asset sales, cost reductions and new sources of capital as Intel attempts to restore growth and rebuild investor confidence.

Altera’s separation fits into that broader effort. Intel retains a 49% stake, meaning a successful IPO could establish a public-market valuation for an asset that was previously embedded within Intel’s much larger corporate structure.

Intel has also attracted significant outside capital as it seeks to strengthen its finances and fund its semiconductor ambitions. Last year, the U.S. government agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel through an $8.9 billion investment tied to previously awarded semiconductor and defense funding.

The company has separately turned to public markets to finance its manufacturing expansion and artificial intelligence ambitions. In August, Intel raised about $20 billion through a follow-on stock offering, one of the largest equity offerings by a U.S. technology company, with proceeds earmarked for capital expenditures and working capital.

The Altera IPO is expected, therefore, to provide more than a liquidity event for Intel. It would potentially demonstrate that assets carved out during the restructuring can command substantial standalone valuations while allowing Intel to retain exposure through its remaining stake.

For Silver Lake, the transaction offers a different test. The private-equity firm acquired control of Altera at an $8.75 billion valuation and is now positioning the business for a public listing potentially worth considerably more. That creates a relatively short timeline between acquisition and proposed IPO, making the deal an important measure of how quickly investors are willing to revalue semiconductor businesses linked to AI, data centers and specialized computing.

The broader market environment is favorable for a deal of Altera’s size. Semiconductor companies have benefited from investor interest in AI infrastructure, while the reopening of the U.S. IPO market has created a more receptive environment for large technology offerings.

But the public market will ultimately judge Altera on its own growth prospects rather than simply its association with Intel or Silver Lake.

The company operates across industries ranging from telecommunications and industrial equipment to aerospace, defense, and AI, giving it a broader addressable market than a pure-play AI chipmaker. Its ability to translate that exposure into sustained growth will be central to the IPO valuation.

The proposed offering consequently arrives at the intersection of three trends: Intel’s attempt to reshape itself, Silver Lake’s effort to unlock value from a former Intel division, and a renewed wave of semiconductor and technology listings.

If Altera proceeds with a $2 billion-plus offering, it would give investors one of the clearest new public-market opportunities to assess the value of a specialized chipmaker emerging from a major corporate restructuring. It would also put a price on Silver Lake’s bet that Altera can grow faster and command a stronger valuation as an independent company than it could as part of Intel.