Achronix Semiconductor Corp. received a rare grant from Intel, a first time initiative of the world’s largest chip manufacturer to give access of its advanced manufacturing processes to a startup company. Using its most advanced technology, Intel will be making chips for the Achronix FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), programmed to perform specific tasks for equipments used in industrial, aerospace and computing applications.

Intel will be creating the chips at 32 nanometers and, next year, a twenty-two –nanometer circuitry is expected to be available.
The chips from Intel is supposed to provide the Achronix FPGAs 300 percent better performance, not to mention lowered power (50%) and 40% lowered cost than the previously released products.

“This is a historic development,” said John Lofton Holt, Achronix’s chief executive. “Intel is far ahead of anyone else in new process generations.”

Bryan Lewis, Gartner analyst, predicts FPGAs market to grow 44% before the end of this year and an overall 31.5% growth of the entire chip industry which has long been dominated by Altera Corp. and Xilinx Inc., both of which had stood unswervingly through previous threats from startup companies.

With Intel’s next production process, Achronix is conveying a statement “unique and appears to a vote of confidence that Intel must believe that the FPGA market is important,” Mr. Lewis said.

Since Achronix, which has been selling chips since 2008 using TSMC’s 65-nanometer technology, would account for only about 1% of Intel’s production capacity, Mr. Bill Kircos, Intel spokesman, announced that Intel is open to the idea of making the same chips for other companies.

As Intel looks to diversify and sustain its presence with ongoing technological developments, remaining heavily vested in chip manufacturing is ky for the company moving forward.  Beyond such partnerships, Intel’s been working on other chip development, and opening plants across the globe.