Intel is expected to announce a major reform plan at this month's board meeting, divesting some unnecessary businesses and adjusting capital expenditures to revive the company's financial outlook.
According to a source, Intel executives are considering selling their programmable chip division Altera because Intel is no longer able to allocate funds from profits to support project development. Another possibility is to split Intel and sell its chip foundry division to buyers such as TSMC.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly providing consulting services to Intel. The management of the company is discussing feasible departmental sales plans, but has not yet made up their minds, which means there may be more changes before the meeting.
Disappointed AI Ambition
The mid September board meeting is crucial for Intel and will determine the company's future development path. Not long ago, Intel announced in August that it would suspend dividend payments and lay off 15% of its workforce, highlighting the severity of its business situation.
The Altera division, rumored to be sold, was acquired by Intel for $16.7 billion in 2015 and became Intel's Programmable Solutions division. However, in March of this year, the department was renamed Altera as a new company.
Intel had a vision at the time to ensure absolute control over Altera while introducing new investments, with the expectation of driving the company's IPO in two to three years. And this measure may have already laid the groundwork for Intel's tight financial resources.
Outside of Altera, Mobileye and Intel IFS outsourcing businesses have undergone the process of splitting into independent operating entities. Among them, Mobileye has been fortunate enough to go public.
The rumor of Altera being placed in the adjustment directory also exposed Intel's inadequate capabilities in the AI field. Altera was once Intel's largest acquisition in history and is seen as an important department in the field of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to support the company's artificial intelligence development.
From the perspective of the FPGA market, Altera and Xilinx jointly hold a 90% market share. The latter was already acquired by AMD in 2020, and its valuation soared to $50 billion in 2022.
But Intel and AMD have not yet competed in the FPGA field, and Altera is facing the risk of a "switch of ownership". According to sources, American chip manufacturer Marvel is one of the potential buyers for Altera.