FPGAs are the ultimate in versatile, programmable computing hardware. They power real-time, mission-critical systems today, from nuclear reactor control and mile-per-second interceptors to real-time market liquidity injection. Hartley is bringing the deep intelligence of AI and ML into these same environments, without compromising on determinism or speed.
That’s why our new partnership with Altera matters. By integrating with FPGAs, rather than trying to replace them, we lower adoption risk, shorten integration cycles, and unlock a massively programmable, ultrafast hybrid intelligence platform for use wherever time is of the essence.
Hartley is partnering with Altera to bring hybrid neuromorphic-plus-digital computing to the market for real-time intelligence.
Altera Corporation is the world’s #1 pure-play FPGA vendor and a global leader in programmable semiconductor solutions. Its technology forms the backbone of many of humanity's most demanding intelligent systems, where flexibility and performance are non‑negotiable. As a member of Altera’s global ASAP partner network, Hartley Ultrafast gains enhanced technical and commercial access, coupling ONPU performance with FPGA versatility on a proven platform.
Hartley’s optoelectronic neural processing units (ONPUs) combine photonics and electronics to deliver nanosecond-scale latency for small, dense AI models. This creates an opportunity for human-on-the-loop and algorithmic decision-making at timescales that were previously unthinkable.
At the core of this partnership is a shared focus on real-time, system-level performance. Hartley’s ultrafast photonic compute, tightly coupled with Altera’s programmable FPGA infrastructure, enables a new class of computing hardware where speed, determinism, and flexibility are designed in from day one. For customers, that means familiar FPGA development flows and toolchains, with a new low-latency AI building block available as a drop‑in platform extension.
Through the ASAP Programme, Hartley will work closely with Altera’s engineering and commercial teams to advance platform development, integration, and validation. This collaboration expands opportunities across multiple industries—defence, industrial control, network intelligence, capital markets, and beyond—by making ultrafast AI more accessible to existing FPGA deployments. Hartley is positioned within a wider ecosystem of system integrators, developers, and technology leaders who are reshaping the future of compute.
This technology partnership—FPGA + ONPU—and commercial partnership—Altera + Hartley—brings us much closer to realising human agency in a new domain of speed.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the best in the FPGA business to make ultrafast intelligence a reality in all the applications where time matters most.” -Josh Silverstone, Hartley Ultrafast