Intel Corp. has signed an agreement to acquire Barefoot Networks, a maker of Ethernet switch silicon and software for the data center.
After the deal closes, which is expected in the third quarter of this year, Barefoot Networks will focus on end-to-end cloud networking and infrastructure. Barefoot will add its cloud network architectures, P4-programmable high-speed data paths, switch silicon development, P4 compilers, driver software, network telemetry and computational networking to Intel’s portfolio.
Intel has been working on transitioning its business away from some markets such as 5G smartphone modems and moving more toward the networking side and the internet of things (IoT). The company has been expanding into this realm with a new series of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for the data center and by acquiring Omnitek, which develops FPGAs and IP cores for the data center.
