Intel Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of semiconductor chips. These chips include microprocessors, which serve as the “brain” of a computer, and certain memory chips, which can store information electronically. In addition to those computer chips, Intel produces chips for use in other electronic devices.
Intel was founded in 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, two American engineers who had worked together at a company called Fairchild Semiconductor. Intel quickly established itself as a supplier of memory chips for large computers. In 1981, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) chose Intel’s 8088 microprocessor for use in its first personal computer, the PC. This chip quickly became the standard among personal computer microprocessors. By the 2000’s, Intel had gained 80 percent of the worldwide market share for computer chips. In 2009, the European Union’s competition commission fined Intel $1.45 billion for anticompetitive practices.
Intel has continued to develop faster microprocessors. Its 386 chip, introduced in 1985, provided the processing power needed to create and display sophisticated graphics on personal computers. Intel’s 486 (1989) processor and Pentium series of processors (1993 and later) enabled people to produce and display more and more elaborate multimedia presentations on personal computers. Such presentations can include text, illustrations, sound, and videos. Intel headquarters are in Santa Clara, California.
