In recent years, the FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) industry has been undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with the current state of FPGAs appearing increasingly complex. Due to the turbulence of key players within the industry, the market situation for FPGAs has become unclear. However, with continuous technological advancements and the expansion of application fields, the market demand for FPGAs continues to grow, and the prospects for new types of FPGAs have never been broader, presenting new development opportunities across high-end, mid-range, and low-cost sectors.

High-End Market Changes and Challenges

In the FPGA market, Intel and AMD are the two major players. Intel announced in February 2022 the spin-off of its FPGA manufacturing division, Intel Programmable Solutions Group (PSG), and restored its original name, Altera. This move aims to enhance Altera's independent operations and market competitiveness, with plans for an IPO in 2026. AMD's FPGA business, on the other hand, is in a state of uncertainty due to the retirement of President Victor Peng, but AMD is actively seeking new development opportunities to maintain its competitiveness in the FPGA market.

Despite the uncertainties, Altera and AMD continue to compete fiercely in the high-end FPGA market. Altera is modernizing its product line and unifying the brands of all three tiers (high-end, mid-range, and low-end) of FPGAs under the Agilex brand. However, there have been no significant changes in the high-end FPGA series of AMD and Altera over the past year. AMD's top-tier 7nm Versal FPGA was released in 2018, while Intel's top-tier Agilex 7 FPGA was launched in early 2023.

Opportunities and Breakthroughs in the Mid-Low End Market

The competition in the mid-low end FPGA market is equally intense. For many years, AMD/Xilinx and Altera/Intel have mainly focused on high-end, high-profit devices, paying less attention to the mid-low end market. This market gap has been seized by FPGA suppliers such as Lattice and Microchip, who have introduced new products to compete.

Lattice Semiconductor announced new members of its low-end Certus-NX FPGA series in 2024, manufactured using low-power 28nm FD-SOI process technology. At the same time, Lattice also launched the mid-range Avant FPGA platform based on TSMC's 16nm FinFET process node, directly competing with outdated products from AMD and Altera.

Microchip also released the mid-range PolarFire 2 SoC FPGA series based on 28nm SONOS process technology in early 2023, competing with older SoC FPGA products from AMD and Altera. Microchip's PolarFire 2 SoC FPGA integrates five 64-bit SiFive RISC-V processor cores, while AMD and Altera's SoC FPGAs use older 32-bit Arm Cortex-A9 cores.

With the rise of Lattice and Microchip in the mid-low end market, Altera and AMD have also begun to show new interest in these markets. Altera launched the Agilex 3 FPGA series, while AMD announced the Spartan UltraScale+ FPGA series, planned for production in 2025. These moves indicate that competition in the FPGA market is intensifying and extending to the mid-low end sectors.

Future Outlook for FPGAs

As competition in the FPGA market intensifies, the industry benefits from the devaluation of old production lines and competition for the next generation of cutting-edge process nodes. With the devaluation of old production lines, newer but non-cutting-edge semiconductor processes still have significant room for development, suitable for FPGA niche markets that are more cost-sensitive. This provides growth opportunities for both high-end and low-end FPGA markets. At the same time, competition in developing the next generation of cutting-edge process nodes also provides ample growth opportunities and development opportunities for the high-end FPGA market.

FPGAs, as a flexible and programmable hardware platform, play an increasingly important role in embedded systems, data centers, artificial intelligence, and other fields. With continuous technological advancements and the expansion of application fields, the prospects for the FPGA market will be broader. However, the future development of the FPGA market still requires close attention to the trends of key players in the industry and changes in the competitive landscape.

Looking to the future, FPGA technology will continue to play a significant role in various fields. With the continuous development of technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, FPGAs will play an increasingly important role. At the same time, with continuous technological progress and the entry of new players, competition in the FPGA industry will become more intense, but it will also bring more growth opportunities and innovative momentum to the industry.

Get chips quickly, Find FPGA IC chips in Conevo

● The EPM9320LC84 is a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) from Altera, now a subsidiary of Intel, featuring 6K gates, 320 macro cells, and operating at a maximum frequency of 100MHz with 5V CMOS technology in an 84-Pin PLCC package.

● The EPM7064SLI44-10N is a high-performance, EEPROM-based CPLD from Altera, featuring 64 macrocells, 44-pin PLCC packaging, and a delay of 10 ns.

● The EP1810LI-45 is a low-cost, high-performance MAX II series CPLD from Altera, featuring 180 macrocells, operating at a maximum frequency of 400 MHz, and packaged in a 45-pin TQFP format.

Website: www.conevoelec.com

Email: info@conevoelec.com