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Intel Corporation

Semiconductors · Santa Clara, United States · Founded 1968 · IPO 1971

In 1968, two semiconductor pioneers, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, left Fairchild Semiconductor to forge their own path. They founded Intel, a name derived from "Integrated Electronics," with a vision to create a new market for semiconductor memory. Joined by their third employee, Andy Grove, the company initially focused on SRAM and DRAM chips, successfully replacing older magnetic-core memory. A pivotal moment arrived in 1971. Intel went public, raising $6.8 million with an initial share price of $23.50. That same year, an engineer's idea for a single-chip CPU led to the creation of the Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available microprocessor. This invention marked a fundamental shift for the company. While memory was their initial business, the future was in microprocessors. The decisive breakthrough came in 1981 when IBM chose Intel's 8088 processor for its new personal computer. This partnership cemented Intel's position at the heart of the PC revolution. Faced with intense competition in the memory market by the mid-1980s, leadership made the critical decision to pivot and focus almost entirely on microprocessors, a move that would define their dominance for decades.