About UsAltera Corporation (www.altera.com) is the world's pioneer of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. With annual revenues in CY 2003 of $827.2 million, Altera combines the reprogrammable logic technology originally invented in 1983 with software tools, intellectual property (IP), and design services to provide high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. Altera is headquartered in San Jose, California, and employs approximately 2,000 people in 14 countries. Committed to helping customers achieve their business goals, Altera aggressively invests in research and development efforts despite global economic pressures. Altera's FPGAs are uniquely positioned to displace costly, high-risk solutions such as ASICs and ASSPs, and offer a viable, more flexible alternative to digital signal processors—delivering value to a much broader market than was previously addressed by programmable logic. By partnering even more closely with our customers, Altera continues to develop new products and tools. Altera’s portfolio of industry-leading FPGAs, CPLDs, and structured ASIC products have been overwhelmingly accepted in traditional markets and have quickly been incorporated into many new applications. Building on the award-winning Stratix® device family, Stratix II FPGAs offer twice the performance and 40 percent lower cost than their predecessor for high-density, general purpose applications. Cyclone™ II FPGAs continue the low-cost FPGA leadership Altera established with the first-generation Cyclone family and delivers a flexible, low-risk, and low-cost solution that makes it a highly attractive alternative to low- and mid-density ASICs. HardCopy® Stratix devices give volume-driven applications designers the ability to seamlessly migrate to a low-cost structure ASIC solution. MAX® II CPLDs set new CPLD standards and extend Altera’s fifteen years of market leadership. A library of IP cores for differentiation, including the Nios® II processor, gives customers a competitive edge. The Quartus® II design software supports all Altera® products and is the easiest to use and most powerful design software available today for CPLD, FPGA, and structured ASIC designs. It offers customers full, risk-free design flexibility with maximum return on investment. Altera maintains partnerships and subcontracting agreements with industry-leading technology suppliers in wafer processing, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). Altera enhances its own place-and-route design software with tools from best-in-class EDA vendors. With the assistance of a world-class distribution network, Altera services customers around the world. This highly successful business model allows Altera to focus on its core competency: the development and deployment of leading-edge programmable technology that provides maximum value to customers. HistoryAltera was founded in 1983 by Robert Hartmann, Michael Magranet, Paul Newhagen, and Jim Sansbury. Research into the semiconductor industry showed that customers would benefit from a user-programmable standard product alternative to gate arrays. To address these market needs, the team developed the first reprogrammable logic device (PLD), the EP300. The first commercial Altera PLDs, Classic™Â devices, are still sold to customers today. Altera expanded its technology leadership in 1988 with the product-term-based MAX architecture and, in 1992, with the look-up table (LUT)-based FLEX® architecture. Altera pioneered the SOPC era with the recent introduction of newer, more powerful and efficient architectures, the Quartus II development system, and an extensive IP offering. Altera Corporate Giving ProgramAltera is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by making a meaningful and positive impact on the communities in which our employees live and work. Altera believes that by sharing its resources with these communities, the company invests in the long-term well-being and success of future generations. Through the Altera Corporate Giving Program, Altera provides funding and volunteer work to local non-profit organizations, with a primary focus on K-12 education, social welfare, and at-risk youth. The Altera Community Team (ACT) gives Altera employees a variety of volunteer opportunities to donate their time and skills and have a direct, positive influence on their communities. Specific focus areas for Altera's Corporate Giving Program are: - Education: Emphasis on programs that build capabilities in science, math, and technology and focus on developing critical thinking, language, and communication skills.
- At-Risk Youth: Prevention, education, and early intervention programs that improve the physical, mental, and social health of children, helping them become productive community members.
- Health and Human Services: Local and national health and human services agencies (e.g., American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Salvation Army), hospitals, youth agencies (e.g., Boys Club and Girls Club), agencies for senior citizens, and other health and human service agencies, including those concerned with safety, family planning, drug abuse, and disaster relief.
Altera is an ongoing contributor to the following non-profit organizations: - American Heart Association
- American Cancer Association
- Habitat for Humanity
- Second Harvest Food Bank
- EMQ Children and Family Services
- Stanford Medical Blood Center
- California Coastal Commission
- Salvation Army
- Toys for Tots
- AIDS Walk
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