How Intel Started

Intel was founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. They had decide to leave the company that they had been working for, Fairchild Semiconductor. The reason that they left was because they invented the integrated circuit. Soon after, they were joined by a Hungarian refugee named Andrew Grove, who was the CEO of Intel until the 1990's. They business was to build large scale integrated circuits. At first the company was named NM Electronics, standing for Noyce Moore, but then decided to call it Intel, the first letters of integrated electronics. The company went on to invent one of computer history's biggest moves forward: inventing the microprocessor.

fundinguniverse.com/.../Intel-Corporation-Company-History.html

Life Before the Microprocessor and How it Changed Computers

Before the microprocessor came along, computers filled up entire rooms and were very expensive. Only a few places were able to afford them, places like government labs, research universities and thriving cooperation's. When the idea of putting transistors on a silicone chip (semiconductors) to make things smaller came along, many were skeptical about whether or not it would be a good investment, for it was still in the making. People were more in to using magnetic core memory, which was less expensive. However, Intel believed that because of the semiconductor's smaller size, greater preformance and reduced energy consumpstion, it would be a better investment. Then came along the challenge to make twelve custimized chips for a set of high preformance calculators for a Japenese company known as Busicom. Ted Hoff did not like that idea, and set out to make the microprocessor.

http://landley.net/history/mirror/intel/cn71898a.htm

The Invention of the Microprocessor

In November 19971, Intel (Integrated Electronics) showed the world the first single chip microprocessor. Called the Intel 4004 (U.S.patent #3,821,715), It was created by the Intel engineers Frederico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor. The idea of the single chip microprocessor first came to mind when a possible Japanese client asked for twelve custom chips to be designed. Intel did not have enough workers, so they came up with the idea of putting it all on to one chip. Nine months later, the hard work came through and they had made the world's first single chip microprocessor. This down sized the idea of integrated circuits and made it possible for inanimate objects to have intelligence. The model of the Intel 4004 is still used today.

http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/microprocessor.htm