Intel

Founded by two defectors from Fairchild Semiconductor. The Intel 4004 of 1971 was the first commercial microprocessor, originally commissioned for a Japanese calculator. The choice of the 8088 for the IBM PC in 1981 made x86 the industry standard, and the pairing with Microsoft's operating system produced the term "Wintel".

Gordon Moore's 1965 observation that transistor density doubles on a regular cadence became the industry's planning tool for half a century. The company long manufactured in its own fabs as a competitive advantage, but stalled at 14 nm for years while TSMC pulled ahead — and has since struggled to catch up both there and in AI accelerators.