In what could be one of the largest semiconductor listings in recent years, chipmaker Altera, backed by global private equity firm Silver Lake and tech giant Intel, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise over USD 2 billion.
As per a Reuters report, Silver Lake has tapped Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley as underwriters for the Altera IPO.
However, the order of banks in the lineup However, sources indicated that the order of banks in the lineup is still pending finalisation.
“The San Jose, California-based company is preparing to confidentially file for the IPO in the coming weeks, and a listing could come as early as this year,” the report added, while noting that plans like the timing and size of the offering could still change.
The offering would mark one of the largest semiconductor IPOs since Arm Holdings’ 2023 market debut, in which the British tech venture raised nearly USD 5 billion.
Altera’s IPO will be following up on the string of blockbuster listings that has propelled the American stock market toward a record year.
IPOs in the world’s largest economy, excluding special-purpose acquisition companies, have raised a record USD 137 billion through the end of August 2026, as per the data provided by Dealogic.
More mega listings remain in the pipeline, including Anthropic, which could go public around October and is expected to raise about USD 100 billion. That would surpass SpaceX’s USD 75 billion raise, which hogged the limelight a couple of months back.
The remaining mega listings, as per the Dealogic data, could push total proceeds in 2026 above 2021’s record of roughly USD 156 billion.
Altera makes programmable chips that can be used for both telecom and defence purposes.
The company was acquired by Intel for about USD 16.7 billion in 2015 and became fully standalone in September 2025 after the Lip-Bu Tan-led tech giant agreed to sell a 51% stake to Silver Lake for USD 4.46 billion in a transaction valuing the chipmaker at USD 8.75 billion.
Intel, currently, retains a 49% stake in Altera.
Silver Lake, during the acquisition, committed roughly USD 3.3 billion in equity to the transaction alongside Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, a co-investor in the takeover.
The planned IPO, which would mark Altera’s return to the public markets after it was acquired by Intel in 2015, comes as Intel continues a radical restructuring aimed at restoring growth and rebuilding investor confidence.
Since becoming the Intel CEO in 2025, Tan has been strengthening the chipmaker’s finances through asset sales, cost cuts, and opening up new capital sources.
In 2025, the Donald Trump administration agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel through an USD 8.9 billion investment tied to previously awarded semiconductor and defense funding.
In August, the company further raised about USD 20 billion in a follow-on stock offering, one of the largest equity offerings by an American tech venture, with proceeds earmarked for capital expenditures and working capital in the coming days.