Abu Dhabi–based investment firm MGX has emerged as a co-investor alongside U.S. private equity titan Silver Lake in a high-stakes deal to acquire a majority stake in Altera, a programmable chip business previously fully owned by Intel.
The transaction values Altera at approximately US$8.75 billion, with Silver Lake taking a 51 % equity stake for about US$3.3 billion.
Under this structure, Intel retains 49 % ownership, reducing its direct control over Altera’s operations.
The transaction closed on September 12, 2025, according to regulatory filings. MGX has not publicly disclosed the precise size of its investment.
Founded in 2024, MGX is a relatively new Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle formed by Mubadala and AI holding company G42, and operating under the stewardship of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The firm has quickly positioned itself as a strategic investor in advanced technologies, especially in the AI and semiconductor infrastructure space. Its participation in this deal signals its ambition to be a major player in the global technology and computing supply chain.
Omar Alismail, MGX’s Chief Investment Officer for Semiconductors and Infrastructure, emphasized the strategic nature of Altera’s technology, calling it “a foundational platform for next-generation computing” and an opportunity “to scale a company of such significance into a true global leader for the AI era.”
For the semiconductor industry: The deal reflects growing investor confidence that AI, reconfigurable logic, and custom compute architectures will play a central role in future technology stacks. By backing Altera, MGX and Silver Lake are placing a bet on programmable chip technologies (e.g. FPGAs) to remain critical in data centers, AI acceleration, and telecommunications.
For global capital flows: MGX’s involvement especially as a state-linked investment entity underscores how sovereign and sovereign-aligned vehicles are moving aggressively into deep tech and infrastructure sectors. This could reshape competitive dynamics and influence where next-generation hardware scaling and innovation take root.
For Intel: Selling a majority stake in Altera represents a shift in Intel’s strategic priorities, potentially allowing it to reallocate capital or focus on core processing and fabrication technologies.
This co-investment deal is more than just a financial play: it is symbolic of a broader shift in the global tech landscape. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign players like MGX are aggressively repositioning capital towards frontier infrastructure. Meanwhile, traditional tech giants like Intel are recalibrating their portfolios toward higher value or core areas.
If MGX can help steer Altera to renewed growth and relevance in AI compute ecosystems, this will reinforce the UAE’s ambitions to be not just a capital center, but a foundational node in the global technology stack.
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