AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was formally incorporated by Jerry Sanders and his colleagues from Fairchild Semiconductor. Sanders, frustrated with the lack of support at Fairchild, decided to start his own semiconductor company.

The Am2903 4-bit-slice ALU is a key component in computer architecture, capable of performing arithmetic and logic operations on 4-bit binary numbers. It also includes hardware multiply functionality.

In September 1972, AMD went public, selling 525,000 shares at $15 a share, bringing in $7.87 million. This marked a significant milestone in the company's history.

In 1975, AMD entered the microprocessor market, competing with Intel, its main rival in the industry.

In 1978, AMD achieved a significant milestone by surpassing the $100 million mark in revenue, signifying a period of substantial growth in the company's history.

AMD's chips were utilized in space aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1981, showcasing the reliability and advanced technology of their products.

In February 1982, AMD signed a contract with Intel to become a licensed second-source manufacturer of 8086 and 8088 processors. This allowed IBM to use the Intel 8088 in its IBM PC, as IBM's policy at the time required at least two sources for its chips.

In 1984, AMD created the world's first 512K EPROM and was listed in the book The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, showcasing its technological innovation and recognition as a great workplace.

In 1985, AMD made the Fortune 500 list for the first time, signifying its significant growth and impact in the business world.

The 29000 (29K) is a microprocessor series developed by AMD, known for its high-performance and use in various computing applications during the late 1980s to mid-1990s.

In 1990, AMD released the AMD 29050, which featured an on-chip Floating Point Unit (FPU). This microprocessor was a significant advancement in AMD's product line.

In March 1991, AMD released the Am386, its clone of the Intel 386 processor, after facing uncertainty during the legal dispute with Intel.

In 1993, AMD introduced the first of their line of Am486 processors and entered into a joint venture with Fujitsu to produce flash memory, which laid the foundation for modern flash drives.

AMD landed a major long-term deal with Compaq in 1994 to supply Am486 processors.

In the late 90s, AMD persevered and rolled out their first home-built x86 processor, the K5, challenging Intel's dominance in the microprocessor market.

AMD released the K6 microprocessor, also known as NX686 or Little Foot, in 1997. It was a significant advancement in AMD's processor lineup.

The K7, AMD's seventh-generation x86 processor, made its debut under the brand name Athlon on June 23, 1999. It could not be used on the same motherboards as Intel's due to licensing issues surrounding Intel's Slot 1 connector.

In 2000, AMD introduced the Athlon processor, which was designed to run the Microsoft Corporation’s Windows operating system. With the release of the Athlon processor, AMD became the first company to produce a 1-GHz (gigahertz) microprocessor, marking AMD as a serious competitor in the chip market.

On October 9, 2001, the Athlon XP was released, offering enhanced performance.

AMD launched the Opteron server-oriented processor, which was the initial release of the K8 architecture technology. It featured a 64-bit extension to the x86 instruction set, an on-chip memory controller, and the HyperTransport interconnect.

On June 27, 2005, AMD won an antitrust suit against Intel in Japan, and on the same day, AMD filed a broad antitrust complaint against Intel in the U.S. Federal District Court in Delaware. The complaint alleges systematic use of secret rebates, special discounts, threats, and other means used by Intel to lock AMD processors out of the global market.

AMD announced the acquisition of Canadian 3D graphics card company ATI Technologies for approximately $5.4 billion, which was completed on October 25, 2006.

The Opteron (Barcelona) was released on September 10, 2007. It marked a significant advancement in AMD's server processor technology.

On November 15, 2007, AMD announced the launch of the AMD 7-Series chipsets, which replaced the previous chipsets and marked AMD's entry into the enthusiast multi-graphics segment. This launch expanded AMD's chipset offerings and demonstrated the company's commitment to chipset innovation.

On November 19, 2007, AMD launched the Phenom X4 (9-series) (Agena), a quad-core processor that offered improved performance and efficiency.

The Phenom FX (Agena FX) was released in the first quarter of 2008, introducing a high-performance processor for enthusiasts and gamers.

In April 2008, AMD introduced the Phenom X3 (8-series) (Toliman), a triple-core processor designed to provide a balance of performance and value.

AMD announced plans to spin off manufacturing operations in the form of GlobalFoundries Inc., a joint venture with Advanced Technology Investment Co., to focus solely on chip design.

The Phenom II (X4) was released on January 8, 2009, offering high-performance quad-core processing for desktop computers.

The Phenom II (X6) was introduced on April 27, 2010, providing advanced hexa-core processing power for desktop systems.

On August 31, 2011, in Austin, Texas, AMD achieved a Guinness World Record for the "Highest frequency of a computer processor": 8.429 GHz. The company ran an 8-core FX-8150 processor with only one active module (two cores), and cooled with liquid helium.

Bulldozer was AMD's microarchitecture for server and desktop processors, released on October 12, 2011. It was designed for high-performance computing products with a focus on performance-per-watt efficiency improvements.

On November 1, 2011, geek.com reported that Andre Yang, an overclocker from Taiwan, used an FX-8150 to set a record of 8.461 GHz.

On November 19, 2012, Andre Yang used an FX-8350 to set a record of 8.794 GHz.

AMD collaborates with Microsoft and Sony to place AMD chips in Xbox One and PS4 game consoles, marking a diversification beyond the PC market.

AMD announced that Rory Read had stepped down as president and CEO, and was succeeded by Lisa Su.

The Excavator microarchitecture was launched in 2015 as the successor to Piledriver. It focused on improved power efficiency and was expected to be the last microarchitecture of the Bulldozer series.

AMD launched the Zen-based architecture for their CPUs, aimed at enhancing the performance of the CPUs by utilizing 14nm transistor technology to improve single-core and multi-core performance.

AMD's latest Genoa CPU was released in November 2022, marking a significant milestone for the company's data center business. The Genoa CPU has been adopted by major data center customers, further solidifying AMD's position in the market.

AMD acquired an open-source AI software provider, Nod.ai, to bolster its AI software ecosystem.

AMD's stock closed 4.1% higher at $112.25 apiece on Friday and is up 73% this year. It's the world's sixth-largest — and the US' third-largest — chipmaker by value, with a market cap of $181 billion.