In 2025, a low-key yet monumental invention in the semiconductor industry—FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)—will celebrate its fortieth anniversary. This is not just a milestone in time, but rather a dramatic historical metaphor. In this special year of turning forty, the two giants that once dominated the FPGA market for decades, Xilinx and Altera, after being acquired by AMD and Intel respectively, have been given a new mission of “independent operation”. The hands of history seem to have returned to the starting point, yet they point towards a brand new direction. As the “Transformers” of the chip world stand at the crossroads of change, we cannot help but ask: What kind of magical technology is FPGA? How has it shaped our digital world today? In this new game initiated by the giants, what role will the rising Chinese FPGA forces play?
FPGA: The “Transformers” of the Chip World
Image Source: Doubao AIImagine you bought a Lego set, but instead of being made up of a fixed number of blocks, it consists of countless programmable and connectable small units. You can build a castle today, turn it into a racing car tomorrow, and reconfigure it into a robot the day after. FPGA is this kind of “super Lego” in the chip world.Unlike the CPUs (Central Processing Units) and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) we are familiar with, whose internal circuit structures are “hardwired” at the factory, they excel at executing sequential software instructions or performing large-scale parallel computations. The “F” in FPGA—Field—highlights its core characteristic: its functionality is not permanently set in the factory, but defined by the user through programming languages in the “field”.This characteristic endows FPGA with unparalleled flexibility and parallel processing capabilities. Developers can “draw” the most efficient hardware circuits inside the FPGA based on specific algorithms or applications, achieving true “hardware customization”. This makes FPGA exceptionally effective in handling tasks that require large-scale parallel data streams and low-latency responses.
The Golden Forty Years: The Origins of FPGA and the Battle of Giants
In 1985, two outstanding engineers, Ross Freeman and Bernard Vonderschmitt, co-founded Xilinx and launched the world’s first commercial FPGA—XC2064. The birth of this chip marked the beginning of a new era. It broke the constraints of traditional ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) that required high upfront investments and long design cycles, providing engineers with a new way to quickly and cost-effectively validate and deploy hardware designs.Almost simultaneously, Altera also emerged and quickly became another major player in the FPGA market. Over the next thirty years, Xilinx and Altera engaged in an epic “duel” competition. They chased each other in process nodes, chip architectures, software toolchains, and various other aspects, jointly driving the rapid development of FPGA technology. This competition not only spawned countless innovations but also expanded FPGA applications from the initial glue logic to almost all electronic information fields, including communications, data centers, industrial, automotive, and aerospace.However, with the wave of consolidation in the semiconductor industry, these two “arch-rivals” were subsequently acquired by larger giants. In 2015, Intel acquired Altera and established the Programmable Solutions Group (PSG). In 2022, AMD completed its acquisition of Xilinx. One undeniable reason for the two CPU giants acquiring the FPGA giants is their recognition of the arrival of the AI era.History seems to have played a joke. Now, in order to maintain agility and focus in an increasingly competitive market, AMD and Intel have both chosen to let these two companies “regain their freedom”. AMD announced that it would operate the acquired Xilinx business as an independent department, while Intel also plans to allow Altera to go public independently in the future. On the occasion of their fortieth anniversary, the two former kings will return to the battlefield in a new form.
Chinese FPGA Manufacturers: The Pursuers at Dawn
In the highly technical and long-dominated FPGA field, Chinese manufacturers have started late but are making steady progress. In recent years, driven by domestic substitution and the new infrastructure wave, the Chinese FPGA industry has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities.Currently, Chinese FPGA manufacturers are striving to catch up in technology and processes.On the technical side, leading domestic manufacturers have basically mastered the core technologies of FPGA chip design, capable of independently designing FPGA chips with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of gates. In terms of critical EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software, they have also launched their own development toolchains. Although there is still a gap in algorithm efficiency, usability, and ecosystem completeness compared to foreign giants, they have basically met the needs of mid-to-low-end applications.On the process side, constrained by the global semiconductor manufacturing landscape, the mainstream products currently mass-produced by Chinese FPGA manufacturers mostly use 28nm, 40nm, and even more mature process nodes. Some leading companies have begun to move towards more advanced processes like 14/16nm, but compared to the 7nm products that Xilinx and Altera have already mass-produced, there is still about a two-generation gap.
Main Application Areas
Currently, the products of Chinese FPGA manufacturers are mainly concentrated in the following areas:Communication: In 5G base stations, optical network transmission, and other equipment, FPGAs are used for interface expansion, protocol processing, and small baseband computing. This is one of the earliest markets where domestic FPGA manufacturers have made breakthroughs.Industrial Control: In industrial automation, servo drives, machine vision, and other scenarios, FPGAs play a key role due to their low latency and high reliability. Domestic FPGAs occupy a considerable share in this type of mid-to-low-density market.LED Display and Video Processing: Control systems for LED large screens and video surveillance equipment are traditional strongholds for domestic FPGAs, where performance requirements are relatively moderate, and market demand is huge.Emerging Applications: With the development of AI, some domestic FPGAs have begun to integrate AI computing modules, exploring application potential in emerging fields such as edge computing and autonomous driving.Despite facing challenges, the market prospects for Chinese FPGA manufacturers remain broad and bright. The main reasons are three:1. Huge Domestic MarketChina is the world’s largest manufacturing base and consumer market for electronic products. From industrial internet and data centers to smart cars, the demand for FPGAs continues to grow. This provides valuable “testing grounds” and growth space for domestic FPGAs.2. Strong Policy SupportIntegrated circuits are a top priority in national strategy. The government has provided unprecedented support in terms of policy, funding, and talent cultivation, creating a favorable environment for the development of critical technologies like FPGA.3. Supply Chain Security ConsiderationsThe uncertainty of the global trade environment has led many domestic technology companies to elevate supply chain security to a strategic level, providing an excellent window for domestic FPGA substitution.Challenges cannot be ignored either. FPGA is a winner-takes-all market, where technology, ecosystem, and user habits create extremely high barriers. Chinese challengers must not only continue to narrow the gap in hardware performance but also face the daunting task of building a strong, user-friendly software ecosystem for developers. This requires long-term investment and relentless effort.
Conclusion
The forty years that FPGA has traversed is a magnificent epic written by innovation, competition, and dreams. The independence of Xilinx and Altera heralds a new competitive landscape that is more diverse and intense. For the Chinese FPGA industry, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Standing on the shoulders of giants, China’s “pursuers” are striving to illuminate their own light on this thorny path. In the future, we have reason to expect a more open and prosperous global FPGA market, which will undoubtedly include a resounding voice from China.
Disclaimer：This article is originally from Electronic Enthusiasts and must be cited when reproduced. For group discussions, please add WeChat elecfans999, for submission, interview requests, please email [email protected].
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