AI chip boom adds another IPO newcomer! Intel Corporation (INTC.US) and Silver Lake-backed Altera officially make a push for U.S. stocks.

Altera, a chipmaker backed by private equity giant Silver Lake and Intel Corporation (INTC.US), announced on Tuesday that it has confidentially submitted an initial public offering (IPO) application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), formally initiating the process of returning to the public markets. As the artificial intelligence investment boom continues to drive up valuations and financing needs for chip and related infrastructure companies, Altera has become the latest semiconductor company seeking to ride the AI wave into the capital markets. According to Altera's announcement on Tuesday, the company has not yet determined the number of shares to be offered or the price range for the IPO, and the timing of the listing and the final size of the fundraising remain to be further disclosed. Altera primarily produces programmable chips, with product applications spanning artificial intelligence, industrial automation, and Siasun Robot&Automation, among others. With AI computing demand growing rapidly and the industrial and Siasun Robot&Automation sectors accelerating the adoption of intelligent technologies, the programmable chip market in which the company operates has attracted investor attention. Altera's history dates back to 1983. In 2015, Intel Corporation acquired Altera for approximately $16.7 billion, aiming to strengthen its position in the programmable chip sector. Thereafter, Altera remained within the Intel Corporation system for a long period. However, Altera's ownership structure has undergone significant changes in recent years. Last year, Silver Lake acquired a 51% stake in Altera, gaining controlling interest in the company, while Intel Corporation retained the remaining shares. Subsequently, Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm MGX also joined the transaction. The confidential IPO filing now signifies that Altera, after being acquired by Intel Corporation and taken over by Silver Lake, is further advancing toward the independent capital markets. Notably, Altera's IPO push comes at a time when the U.S. new issue market is clearly heating up. The AI investment boom has swept through the capital markets, with investor interest in semiconductors, computing infrastructure, and other AI-related companies remaining persistently high, creating a favorable environment for related companies to go public and raise funds. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that, excluding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and other financial instruments, U.S. initial public offerings have raised a cumulative $160.6 billion so far in 2026. At the current pace of fundraising, 2026 is on track to become the largest year for U.S. new listings since the pandemic-era IPO boom. Altera's IPO is drawing particular attention, partly because of its relationships with Intel Corporation and Silver Lake, and partly because its business directly covers currently hot capital market sectors such as AI, industrial automation, and Siasun Robot&Automation. However, Altera has not yet disclosed the number of shares to be offered, its valuation target, or the size of the fundraising, so the final scale of the IPO remains highly uncertain. As the confidential filing process advances, the market will next focus on the company's formal public offering documents, as well as information on valuation, financial performance, and the specific timing of the listing.