According to media reports, Intel is acquiring web chip startup Barefoot Networks Inc. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

Founded in 2013 by Stanford University professor Nick McKeown, Barefoot has attracted a number of investment companies since its inception. Before Intel implemented the acquisition, Barefoot had received investments from companies such as Alphabet, Alibaba, Tencent, and Goldman Sachs. Barefoot's technology can stand out from other Ethernet chips, mainly because of its technical flexibility, customers can program the chip according to their specific needs of the chip, thereby improving the efficiency of the chip.

Although Intel is already the largest computer chip maker in the United States, it does not produce chips that manage communications over Ethernet, and this chip technology is widely used to connect large computer and server networks. Currently, this network chip field is dominated by Broadcom, and analysts say that Intel's acquisition of Barefoot is to better compete with Broadcom.

In recent months, Intel has a strong interest in investing in network technology. According to Navin Shenoy, Intel's executive vice president, the acquisition is designed to address the proliferation of data that meets the need for analytical computing power and the ability to exchange network systems within the data center.