Intel Corp. has sold its Enpirion power management and controller product line to Richtek Technology Corp., a subsidiary of Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek Inc. for $85 million.

Enpirion was found in 2001 by a team of technology experts from Bell Laboratories with a focus on power management architecture, power semiconductor devices and high-frequency magnetic materials. According to EE Times, Enpirion has been manufacturing PowerSoCs in high volume since 2005.

The company came into the possession of Intel through a number of acquisitions. Enpirion was acquired by Altera Corp. for $140 million in 2013; Altera was then acquired by Intel for $16.7 billion in 2015.

As of 2020, Enpiron’s product line includes high frequency, high-efficiency power management devices for field-programmable gate arrays, system-on-chips, central processing units, application-specific integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices. Enpirion’s modules are DC-DC Step-Down Converters that integrate nearly all the components needed to build a power supply without sacrificing performance or efficiency.

For Richtek, the appeal in the acquisition is giving the company high-frequency and high-efficiency power solutions as it pushes into enterprise-level system applications. This could include Richtek and/or its parent company MediaTek further developing its ASIC business to target artificial intelligence acceleration for hyperscalers. Notably, Gizmochina reported that the company has already obtained orders from Google LLC to integrate the Enpirion product line.

For Intel, the sale of Enpirion is small change but with a purpose. “This transaction will enable Intel’s Programmable Solutions Group to focus on its core FPGA business and increase investment in high-growth opportunities that help position Intel to win key transitions to support 5G, edge computing, artificial intelligence and the cloud,” an Intel spokesperson told Anandtech.

Image: Intel/Enpirion