Over time, FPGAs have become key in all kinds of industries, from Semiconductors to Military operations and more advanced technologies, like Artificial Intelligence.
Since their invention, two major companies have been leading the market: Xilinx and Altera (acquired by Intel in 2015, but these are not the only FPGA vendors out there.
So here I’ve decided to list the top 10 FPGA companies, some of their most popular products and their key markets (plus a bonus one at the bottom!)
1. Xilinx (AMD)
Xilinx, recently acquired by AMD, is the top market leader in manufacturing FPGA devices. They offer a wide range of FPGA devices, ranging from low-end, such as Spartan-7 to high-end Alveo boards for high-performance computing. Xilinx also provides a great variety of System-on-chip (SoC) FPGA devices such as Zynq-7000 SoC, Zynq Ultrascale+ SoC, Zynq Ultrascale+ RFSoC and Versal ACAP for Artificial and machine learning applications.
They have the best-in-class EDA tools for numerous applications.
Popular Products: 7 Series, UltraScale and UltraScale+, Alveo series
Key Markets: Adaptive Computing, High-performance Computing, Computer-vision, Industrial Automation, 5G
We use a number of different Xilinx boards as part of the FPGA design services that we offer.
2. Intel
Previously known as Altera but acquired by Intel in 2015, this company provides a broad selection of semiconductor devices, such as processors, CPLD and FPGA. They have a wide range of EDA tools to design, develop and debug, as well as SoC devices for complex systems design. Intel also offers solutions for diverse applications, such as embedded systems.
Popular Products: Stratix Series, Cyclone Series, MAX Series, Arria Series, Agilex Series
Key Markets: Surveillance, Networking, Broadcasting, Radar Systems, High-performance Computing
3. Lattice
Lattice specializes in low power, low cost, with smaller footprint FPGA devices. This semiconductor company provides many EDA tools for different applications markets, such as Lattice Diamond Software, Lattice Radiant Software and Lattice Propel.
Popular Products: ECP5, CertusPro-NX, ECP2, CrossLink-NX, iCE40, MACHO2, MACHO3
Key Markets: Consumer Electronics, Industrial & Automotive, Communications & Computing, Artificial Intelligence
4. Microchip
Microchip is known for their FPGA devices that have low power consumption, and are reliable and secure. They also have a broad portfolio of System-on-Chip (SoC) FPGAs, radiation-tolerant FPGAs for high bandwidth and throughput, and Antifuse FPGAs, from low to mid-range.
Popular Products: PolarFire, Fusion Mixed Signal FPGA, ProASIC 3, IGLOO FPGAs
Key Markets: Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Communications, Defense, Industrial, Space
5. Gowin Semiconductor
Gowin semiconductor provides FPGA devices that are at the lowest cost of ownership. They have a broad range of programmable devices, their own EDA tools and IP-cores, reference designs and development kits to get started. This manufacturer also has their own EDA tool called GOWIN EDA to make bitstreams for their devices.
Popular Products: LittleBee Flash Based FPGA, Arora SRAM based FPGA, GoBridge ASSP
Key Markets: AI and Edge Computing, Communication, Industrial, Automotive, Consumer, Medical, LED Display, Cloud Computing and Data-center
6. Menta
Menta is a France-based company, a pioneer in eFPGA with their unique standard cell-based architecture and a wide variety of tool sets for design customization. They provide high-density eFPGAs, available as Soft RTL or Hard GDSII IP.
Popular Products: eFPGA IP Cores V5, Origami Designer, Origami Programmer, Adaptive Digital Signal Processor
Key Markets: Aerospace & Defense, High-performance Computing, Automotive, Edge Computing
7. Quicklogic
Quicklogic specializes in the development of low-power MCU, SRAM Reprogrammable FPGAs, Antifuse FPGAs and eFPGAs ideal for military and defense applications, eFPGAs that allow designers to customize their functions, and Display Interface Bridge Devices.
Popular Products: PolarPro 3, eFPGA IP core, ArticLink 3 S3, EOS-S3, EOS-AI, EOS-S3 Voice + Sensor Hub
Key Markets: Defense, Aerospace, Industrial, Audio/Video, Medical
8. Achronix
Achronix is a semiconductor company founded in 2004 that specializes in designing High-Performance and High-Density FPGAs, FPGA IPs and accelerator cards. It was recognized in 2018 as one of the Most Promising High-Performance Compute Solution Providers by the CIOReview Magazine.
Popular Products: Speedster7t FPGA, Speedcore Embedded FPGA IP, VectorPath Accelerator Card
Key Markets: 5G infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, Automotive, Computational Storage, Compute Acceleration, Defense, Networking, Test & Measurements
9. Efinix
Efinix provides low-power High-performance FPGA devices. They have their own Quantum™ Architecture, an FPGA fabric designed for the best power, performance and area efficiency of silicon devices.
Popular Products: Titanium FPGAs, Trion FPGAs
Key Markets: Industrial, Internet of Things, Video Processing, Compute and Storage, Wireless Infrastructure, Automotive
10. Flex Logic
Flex-logic is an innovative computing company that specializes in eFPGA solutions, focused heavily on Artificial intelligence and Machine learning. They have recently announced the release of their most efficient AI edge Inference accelerator board, with eFPGA and m.2 PCIe form factor.
Popular Products: FlexLogic X1M AI Inference Accelerator
Key Markets: Space applications, Automotive, Computation, Defense, Artificial Intelligence
BONUS
11. S2C
S2C is a global FPGA vendor that provides best-in-class FPGA Prototyping solutions for SoC and ASIC design, that work with different design sizes and a wide array of applications. They also offer Cloud Service solutions.
Popular Products: S7 Series, Virtex Ultrascale Series, Stratix X Series, Arria X Series
Key Markets: Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Image Processing, Automotive, Communications
