Hardware Podcasts

This Week in Electronics History: The 1st Microprocessor

EE Times Current · 19 Nov 2021 · 17m

What this episode covers

Brian Santo, editor-in-chief of EE Times, recounts the 50th anniversary of the Intel 4004, the first commercial microprocessor introduced in 1971. He details how Federico Faggin, Masatoshi Shima, and Ted Hoff designed the chip for Busicom, leveraging silicon gate technology to fit 2,300 transistors on a single die. The episode highlights Intel's initial lack of understanding of the product's value, Andy Grove's skepticism, and how the 4004 paved the way for Intel's dominance in the microprocessor industry.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Intel, Busicom, Xylog, Nvidia, ARM, Tesla, Ford
Products
Arduino, Portenta H7
Chips
4004, 8080
Also
Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima, Andy Grove

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