The Xilinx-Intel conflict has heated up a notch this week, as Xilinx bought a 200-person Chinese startup called DeePhi. The industry consensus is that this is an acqui-hire, made to bring a batch of developers with strong experience with Xilinx’s FPGAs in-house – as hiring staff has become difficult. However, Riot has explored that apparent misconception previously, noting that there’s a real lack of solid evidence to support these kinds of claims. There are shortages in some specific sectors, but the belief that there is a general shortage is sustained partly by the field itself and those with vested interests. Nonetheless, this does smack of a conventional acqui-hire, as Xilinx looks to bring valuable talent in-house, likely in preparation for…