Intel

Founded July 18 in Mountain View, CA by Robert Noyce (Fairchild co-inventor of the IC) and Gordon Moore (author of Moore's Law), with $2.5M seed from Arthur Rock; initial focus on semiconductor memory rather than logic.

Released the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor, on November 15 at $200; designed by Federico Faggin for Japanese calculator maker Busicom, this 4-bit, 2,300-transistor chip launched the modern computing industry.

Launched the 8086, Intel's first 16-bit x86 processor; the chip's instruction-set architecture would become the foundation of every PC processor through Pentium, Core and beyond.

IBM selected the Intel 8088 (cost-reduced 8086) for its first PC, launched August 12; the design win locked Intel-x86 into the volume PC ecosystem for the next four decades.

Launched the 80386 (i386), Intel's first 32-bit x86 processor; introduced protected-mode multitasking that enabled Windows NT, Linux and modern operating systems.

Andy Grove and Gordon Moore exited the DRAM market entirely to focus on microprocessors after Japanese memory makers triggered a price collapse; the strategic pivot defined Intel's next 30 years.

Andy Grove succeeded Gordon Moore as CEO, ushering in the “Only the Paranoid Survive” era; under Grove, Intel revenue grew from .9B to B by 1997.

Launched i486, integrating x87 floating-point unit on-die for the first time at 1.2M transistors; powered the early Windows 3.x desktop wave at 25-33MHz.

Launched Pentium (P5), the first superscalar x86 with two integer pipelines; brand-name marketing campaign made 'Intel Inside' a household sticker and underwrote 60%+ gross margins.

Pentium FDIV bug forced a $475M recall after Thomas Nicely identified the floating-point division flaw; first major PR crisis in Intel's microprocessor era and a template for chip recalls.

Pentium II launched on Slot 1 cartridge with L2 cache; consolidated Intel's lead and inaugurated a five-year run of >50% gross margins on the desktop.

Launched Core 2 Duo (Conroe) on 65nm, a clean break from NetBurst that retook the desktop performance crown from AMD Athlon 64; began a 10-year run of Intel CPU dominance.

Launched Atom and entered netbooks/embedded; the low-margin push proved a strategic dead-end as smartphones (Arm-based) ate the mobile-compute opportunity.

CEO Brian Krzanich resigned June 21 over a past consensual relationship that violated Intel's non-fraternization policy; the abrupt exit came as 10nm yields were missing targets.

Disclosed 10nm volume production was slipping into 2019 with yields below target; the misstep ceded leading-edge logic to TSMC for nearly a decade and triggered the Intel Foundry crisis.

Acquired Habana Labs for $2B to bolster data-center AI training/inference (Gaudi, Goya); Habana would become Intel's primary AI accelerator after Nervana acquisition write-down.

Began volume shipments of first 10nm processor (Ice Lake mobile/Sunny Cove cores) two years late; the chip's modest density gain did not stop AMD Ryzen 3000 from taking client share.

Pat Gelsinger returned as CEO after a decade at VMware, tasked with restoring process leadership; targeted aggressive five-node-in-four-years roadmap (Intel 7, 4, 3, 20A, 18A).

Gelsinger unveiled IDM 2.0 at Intel Unleashed event, including Intel Foundry Services and a $20B Arizona Ocotillo fab expansion; signaled a return to manufacturing as a competitive differentiator.

Announced $20B Ohio mega-fab in Licking County, with potential to reach $100B over a decade; first leading-edge fab outside Israel, Oregon and Arizona in Intel's 50-year history.

CHIPS and Science Act signed into law on August 9, unlocking $52.7B in US semiconductor manufacturing incentives; Intel positioned as primary beneficiary alongside TSMC, Samsung, Micron and GlobalFoundries.

Broke ground on Ohio mega-fab in Licking County September 9, with foundry production targeted for 2025 (later slipped to 2026-27 amid foundry losses).

Mobileye spun off via $861M IPO at $17B valuation October 26; Intel retained majority voting control via Class B shares while monetizing the autonomous-driving asset acquired in 2017 for $15.3B.

Intel 4 (EUV-first) entered volume production for Meteor Lake compute tiles in Hillsboro and Leixlip; Intel's first node fully embracing EUV after years of avoiding the technology.

Awarded preliminary $8.5B CHIPS Act direct funding plus up to $11B in loans for Arizona, Ohio, NM and Oregon; the largest single award in the program at the time.

Lost $7B in foundry segment in 2023, disclosed in first standalone IFS financials, intensifying turnaround pressure; Intel pivoted to Intel 18A as the comeback node.

Suspended dividend and announced 15% workforce cut amid widening foundry losses and Q2 $1.6B loss; share price fell ~26% the next day in the worst single-day drop since 1974.

Sold 49% Altera stake to Silver Lake for ~$4.5B, partly funding 18A capex amid foundry losses; Altera valuation reset to ~$8.75B vs $16.7B Intel paid in 2015.

Reported sub-0.4 defects/cm2 on 18A, claiming the node was nearly ready for risk production at the year's end; later reports questioned actual yields at 10% in summer 2025.

Finalized $7.86B CHIPS Act funding November 26, reduced from $8.5B after a $3B Secure Enclave defense contract carve-out; Intel committed to ~$100B in US fab capex through 2030.

Pat Gelsinger forced into retirement December 1 after the board lost confidence in the foundry turnaround pace; David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus served as interim co-CEOs.

Posted $16.6B Q3 GAAP loss including foundry write-down, suspending dividend through the turnaround; the worst quarterly loss in Intel's 56-year history.

18A entered risk production at Fab 52 in Arizona, the first US-fabricated leading-edge node since the 2010s; Panther Lake compute tile became the lead 18A product.

Lip-Bu Tan named CEO effective March 18, signaling a pivot toward foundry pragmatism and 14A focus; Tan returned to Intel board after stepping off in August 2024 over strategy disputes.

US government took 10% equity stake in Intel as part of CHIPS Act conditions, unprecedented direct ownership; converted ~$8B of subsidies into common equity at ~$20.47/share.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan delayed 14A risk production to 2028, betting Intel's foundry future on 18A volume execution; signaled a more pragmatic, customer-led roadmap than Gelsinger's IDM 2.0.