360Intel launches the first commercial microprocessor
On 15 November 1971, Intel advertised the 4004, the first commercially available microprocessor: a whole computer processor on a single chip, smaller than a fingernail. It held about 2,300 transistors and was designed for a Japanese calculator company, Busicom. Microprocessors went on to power personal computers, phones and countless devices.
Before the 1970s, a computer's processor was built from many separate circuit boards and chips.
In 1969, the Japanese company Busicom asked Intel to design chips for a new printing calculator. Intel engineers Ted Hoff, Federico Faggin and Stanley Mazor, with Busicom's Masatoshi Shima, proposed putting the processor on a single general-purpose chip.
The result was the Intel 4004, with about 2,300 transistors. Intel bought back the rights to sell it to other customers, and advertised it in November 1971 as 'a new era of integrated electronics'.
More powerful chips followed quickly, including the 8080 in 1974, which powered early home computers. Today's processors contain billions of transistors, following the trend predicted by Moore's law.
- 1969
- Busicom approaches Intel
- 15 November 1971
- The Intel 4004 is advertised
- 1974
- The Intel 8080
- 1981
- The IBM PC uses an Intel processor
Sources: Intel · Computer History Museum · Britannica.