Actel

What Actel does

Actel Corporation, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, was originally an independent developer of nonvolatile, low-power field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic devices (PLDs). Following its acquisition by Microchip Technology Inc., Actel now operates as a retained brand and product line within Microchip's broader FPGA and PLD portfolio, with all product pages and specifications hosted on microchip.com. The Actel/Microchip FPGA portfolio spans several distinct technology tracks: standard flash-based FPGAs (PolarFire, IGLOO, IGLOO 2, ProASIC 3), system-on-chip FPGAs integrating either an ARM Cortex-M3 (SmartFusion, SmartFusion 2) or a RISC-V core with on-chip programmable analog and FPGA fabric (PolarFire SoC), radiation-tolerant FPGAs for space applications (RT PolarFire SoC, RT PolarFire, RTG4, RTAX, RT ProASIC 3, RTSX-SU), one-time-programmable antifuse FPGAs (Axcelerator, eX, MX, SX-A) for high-reliability applications, and legacy SPLD/CPLD devices (ATF15xx, 22V10, 16V8). Supporting the silicon are the Libero SoC Design Suite, SmartHLS high-level synthesis tool, VectorBlox Accelerator SDK for edge AI inferencing, and the Mi-V RISC-V partner ecosystem.

Actel/Microchip serves end markets that require low power, high reliability, security, and — in many cases — radiation hardness or automotive qualification. Primary served markets are aerospace, defense, and space (radiation-tolerant lines), industrial (imaging, robotics, motor control), automotive (AEC-Q100 qualified PolarFire), and long-lifecycle embedded applications. Business model mechanics are B2B semiconductor sales through Microchip's direct sales force and authorized distribution channel (microchipDIRECT), with pricing per chip based on logic density, speed grade, package, qualification level (commercial vs. military vs. space-grade), and volume commitments; no public pricing is disclosed in the available source material. Actel does not report separate standalone revenue or financials as it is operated as a product line within Microchip Technology Inc., a NASDAQ-listed parent. No standalone management team, headcount, funding history, or customer logos are disclosed for Actel in the source data, indicating that strategic and operational decisions are now made at the Microchip corporate level rather than at the Actel-brand level.

Name

Actel

Legal name

Actel Corporation

Website

https://actel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Actel, an acquired brand of Microchip Technology, designs nonvolatile, low-power FPGAs, SoC FPGAs, antifuse FPGAs, and radiation-tolerant programmable logic devices serving aerospace, defense, space, industrial, and automotive end markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Programmable Logic Devices / FPGAs

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413)

akta.pro primary industry

Programmable Logic (FPGAs/CPLDs) (HDAHAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

System-on-Chip (SoC) Platforms (Mobile/Consumer/Embedded) (HDAHAJAC), Edge AI Hardware & NPUs (SoCs, modules, accelerators) (HDAAAJAC), Embedded Software & Firmware Tools (Compilers, Debug, RTOS tooling) (HDAHAFAE)

Keywords

• Nonvolatile FPGAs
• Programmable logic devices
• Radiation-tolerant FPGAs
• System-on-chip FPGAs
• Antifuse FPGAs

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountain View

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Actel manufactures nonvolatile, low-power field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), mixed-signal FPGAs, and programmable logic devices (PLDs). Its portfolio spans standard flash-based FPGAs (PolarFire, IGLOO, ProASIC 3), SoC FPGAs integrating ARM Cortex-M3 or RISC-V cores with FPGA fabric (SmartFusion, PolarFire SoC), radiation-tolerant FPGAs for space/aerospace (RT PolarFire, RTG4, RTAX, RTSX-SU), antifuse one-time programmable FPGAs, SPLDs/CPLDs, and complementary FPGA configuration memory plus design tools (Libero SoC Design Suite, SmartHLS, VectorBlox SDK, Mi-V RISC-V ecosystem).

Product overview

Actel (now part of Microchip Technology) offers a comprehensive portfolio of FPGAs and programmable logic devices organized into distinct product lines: Standard FPGAs (PolarFire, IGLOO 2, IGLOO, ProASIC 3), SoC FPGAs (PolarFire SoC, SmartFusion 2, SmartFusion combining ARM Cortex or RISC-V processors with FPGA fabric), Radiation-Tolerant FPGAs (RT PolarFire SoC, RT PolarFire, RTG4, RTAX, RT ProASIC 3, RTSX-SU for space/aerospace applications), Antifuse FPGAs (Axcelerator, eX, MX, SX-A), and SPLD/CPLDs (ATF15xx, 22V10, 16V8). The portfolio also includes FPGA Configuration Memory for configuring competitor SRAM FPGAs, development tools (Libero SoC Design Suite, SmartHLS Tool Suite), and the Mi-V RISC-V Ecosystem. Key differentiators include up to 50% lower power consumption, military-grade security, zero configuration upsets, and edge AI capabilities via the VectorBlox Accelerator SDK for neural network inferencing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IGLOO FPGAs: Low-power flash FPGAs
• IGLOO 2 FPGAs
• ProASIC 3 FPGAs
• Axcelerator FPGAs
• SmartFusion FPGAs
• SmartFusion 2 FPGAs
• RTG4 FPGAs
• RTAX FPGAs
• AT40Kxx FPGAs

Products and services

• PolarFire FPGAs

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lattice Semiconductor: Lattice is the closest peer in the low-power, small-form-factor FPGA category, with ECP5, Certus, and Avant families targeting industrial, automotive, and edge AI. Overlaps directly with Actel/Microchip's IGLOO 2, PolarFire, and MachXO-style positioning.
• Efinix: Efinix offers small/low-power FPGAs (Trion, Titanium) with an alternative Quantum architecture and an AI-focused toolchain. Comparable to Actel/Microchip's IGLOO and small PolarFire offerings for power-constrained embedded and edge applications.
• QuickLogic: QuickLogic specializes in ultra-low-power FPGAs and embedded FPGA (eFPGA) IP, including the PolarPro/Aurora/PolarFamily lines and AI/ML toolchains. Directly comparable to Actel/Microchip's low-power IGLOO family and VectorBlox-style edge AI tooling approach.
• Achronix Semiconductor: Achronix builds high-performance Speedster and VectorPath FPGAs and embedded FPGA IP, including AI/ML-optimized parts with high TOPS-per-watt. Directly comparable as a programmable logic competitor targeting compute acceleration and high-speed data center/edge workloads.
• AMD (Xilinx): AMD's Xilinx division is the FPGA market leader, offering Virtex, Kintex, Zynq SoC, and Versal AI Edge/Adaptive SoC platforms. Direct competitor to Actel/Microchip's PolarFire, SmartFusion, and IGLOO families across mid-range, low-power, and SoC FPGA categories.
• Intel (Altera): Intel's Altera FPGA division (now operating toward re-spin-out) supplies Stratix, Cyclone, Arria, and Agilex FPGAs. Competes with Actel/Microchip in mid-range, low-power, and SoC FPGA segments, and is the historical SRAM-FPGA incumbent whose configuration memory Actel also supports.

Emerging players

• Flex Logix Technologies: Flex Logix provides embedded FPGA (eFPGA) IP for integration into SoCs/ASICs, with an InferX/XLR toolchain for AI acceleration. An emerging alternative to Actel/Microchip's discrete FPGA-plus-NN-overlay approach for customers wanting FPGA fabric inside a custom ASIC.

Broad incumbents

• Texas Instruments: TI is a broad analog and embedded processing incumbent whose C2000 microcontrollers, Sitara processors, and analog portfolio compete in Actel/Microchip's industrial and automotive sockets, often as alternative architectures to FPGAs.
• Microchip Technology: Microchip Technology is the parent company of Actel and a broad semiconductor incumbent spanning microcontrollers (PIC, AVR), analog, connectivity, and FPGAs. Provides direct strategic, sales-channel, and financial context for Actel as a wholly-owned FPGA/PLD product line.
• Renesas Electronics: Renesas is a broad semiconductor incumbent with microcontrollers, SoCs, and timing/power devices that increasingly embed FPGA-like programmable logic and compete in industrial and automotive embedded markets alongside Actel/Microchip's SoC FPGAs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Actel