Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

▪ American company

      global company that specializes in manufacturing semiconductor devices (semiconductor device) used in computer processing. The company also produces flash memories, graphics processors, motherboard chip sets, and a variety of components used in consumer electronics goods. The company is a major supplier of microprocessors (microprocessor) (computer chips). AMD is based in Sunnyvale, Calif.

      AMD was founded in 1969 by Walter Jeremiah (Jerry) Sanders, a former executive at Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, and seven others. The company released its first product in 1970 and went public two years later. In the mid-1970s the company began producing computer chips. Starting out as a second-source manufacturer of computer chips, the company placed a great emphasis on quality and grew steadily. In 1982 the company began supplying second-source chips for the Intel Corporation, which made the microprocessor used in IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) personal computers (personal computer) (PCs). The agreement with Intel ended in 1986. In 1991 AMD released the Am386 microprocessor family, a reverse-engineered chip that was compatible with Intel's next-generation 32-bit 386 microprocessor. There ensued a long legal battle that was finally decided in a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in AMD's favour. That same year, Compaq Computer Corporation contracted with AMD to produce Intel-compatible chips for their computers. In 1996 AMD acquired a microprocessor company known as NexGen and began branching out from the Intel-compatible chip market. 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, which marked AMD as a serious competitor in the chip market. In 2003 the company released the Opteron chip, another product that showcased the company's ability to produce high-end chips. Microsoft's Xbox 360 (Xbox), a popular electronic game console that was released in 2005, used AMD products. In 2006 AMD absorbed ATI Technologies, a manufacturer of video graphics cards for use in PCs. In 2008 AMD announced plans to split the company in two—with one part designing microprocessors and the other manufacturing them. This announcement followed news that the Advanced Technology Investment Company and the Mubadala Development Company, both based in Abu Dhabi, would acquire a controlling interest in AMD, pending approval by shareholders and the U.S. and German governments.

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