History of AMD in Timeline

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a multinational technology corporation based in the USA. As a fabless company, AMD designs and develops a range of high-performance computing solutions including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and SoCs. These products serve diverse markets such as gaming, data centers, AI, and embedded systems. The company is a key player in the semiconductor industry, competing with Intel and NVIDIA in various market segments.

1959: Integrated Circuit Developed at Fairchild

In 1959, Robert Noyce developed the first silicon integrated circuit at Fairchild.

July 1968: Intel's founding

In July 1968, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, former Fairchild employees, founded Intel after being inspired to follow their path.

May 1, 1969: Formal Incorporation of AMD

On May 1, 1969, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was formally incorporated by Jerry Sanders and seven colleagues from Fairchild Semiconductor, driven by frustration with the lack of support and flexibility at Fairchild.

September 1969: AMD Moves to Sunnyvale

In September 1969, AMD relocated from Santa Clara to Sunnyvale, California. Initially, AMD became a second source supplier of microchips designed by Fairchild and National Semiconductor and focused on producing logic chips while guaranteeing quality control to United States Military Standard.

November 1969: First Product Manufactured

In November 1969, AMD manufactured its first product, the Am9300, a 4-bit MSI shift register, which was sold starting in 1970.

1969: AMD Founded

In 1969, AMD was founded by Jerry Sanders and other technology professionals, initially focusing on memory chips and other computer components.

1970: First Proprietary Product

In 1970, AMD produced its first proprietary product, the Am2501 logic counter, which achieved considerable success.

1971: Entry into RAM Chip Market

In 1971, AMD entered the RAM chip market with the Am3101, a 64-bit bipolar RAM. Also, AMD greatly increased the sales volume of its linear integrated circuits; by year-end, total annual sales reached US$4.6 million.

1971: Bestselling product

In 1971, AMD's bestselling product was the Am2505, the fastest multiplier available at the time.

1971: Intel's first Microprocessor

In 1971, Intel created the first microprocessor, the 4-bit 4004.

September 1972: AMD Goes Public

In September 1972, AMD went public.

1973: Second Source for Intel MOS/LSI Circuits

By 1973, AMD was a second source for Intel MOS/LSI circuits, including the Am14/1506 and Am14/1507, dual 100-bit dynamic shift registers.

1975: AMD Enters Microprocessor Market

By 1975, AMD entered the microprocessor market with the Am9080, a reverse-engineered clone of the Intel 8080, and the Am2900 bit-slice microprocessor family.

1975: Product Expansion

By 1975, AMD was producing 212 products, with 49 being proprietary, including the Am9102 (a static N-channel 1024-bit RAM) and three low-power Schottky MSI circuits: Am25LS07, Am25LS08, and Am25LS09.

October 1976: Cross-Licensing Agreement

In October 1976, AMD and Intel entered into a cross-licensing agreement, granting AMD a copyright license to the microcode in its microprocessors and peripherals.

1976: AMD-Intel Cross-licensing Agreement

In 1976, AMD and Intel signed cross-licensing agreement.

1977: Joint Venture with Siemens

In 1977, AMD formed a joint venture with Siemens, a German engineering conglomerate, with Siemens purchasing 20% of AMD's stock and jointly establishing Advanced Micro Computers (AMC).

1978: Intel Introduces x86 Microprocessors

In 1978, Intel introduced the first x86 microprocessors.

1978: Sales Top $100 Million

In fiscal year 1978, AMD's total sales exceeded $100 million.

1979: AMD Buys Out Siemens' Stake in AMC

In 1979, AMD bought out Siemens' stake in the American division of Advanced Micro Computers (AMC) due to differing visions for the company.

1979: AMD Debuts on NYSE and Production Begins in Austin

In 1979, AMD debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and production commenced at AMD's new semiconductor fabrication plant in Austin, Texas.

1980: AMD Enters Telecommunications

In 1980, AMD began supplying semiconductor products for telecommunications, which was a rapidly expanding industry.

October 1981: Initial Technology Exchange Agreement with Intel

In October 1981, Intel and AMD initially signed a 10-year technology exchange agreement. Each company could acquire rights to become a second-source manufacturer of semiconductor products developed by the other.

1981: Construction of San Antonio Plant

In 1981, AMD began construction on a fabrication plant in San Antonio.

1981: Closure of Advanced Micro Computers

In late 1981, AMD closed Advanced Micro Computers (AMC) after shifting focus to manufacturing second-source Intel x86 microprocessors.

February 1982: AMD Becomes Second-Source Manufacturer for Intel

In February 1982, AMD and Intel signed a contract making AMD a licensed second-source manufacturer for Intel's 8086 and 8088 processors, due to IBM's policy of requiring multiple sources for its chips used in the IBM PC.

February 1982: Formal Execution of Technology Exchange Agreement

In February 1982, the 10-year technology exchange agreement between Intel and AMD was formally executed, allowing each company to second-source manufacture semiconductor products developed by the other. This agreement also extended the 1976 AMD–Intel cross-licensing agreement through 1995.

1982: Volume Production of Intel-Licensed Processors

Beginning in 1982, AMD began volume-producing second-source Intel-licensed 8086, 8088, 80186, and 80188 processors.

1984: Am286 Clone Production

By 1984, AMD was producing its own Am286 clone of Intel's 80286 processor for the IBM PC market, while continuing to focus on proprietary bipolar chips.

1984: 512K EPROM Creation

In 1984, AMD created the world's first 512K EPROM.

1984: Intel Stops Sharing Product Information with AMD

In 1984, Intel internally decided to cease cooperation with AMD in supplying product information, with the aim of reinforcing Intel's market advantage. This included delaying and ultimately refusing to provide technical details for the Intel 80386 processor.

1985: Microchip Market Downturn

By mid-1985, the microchip market experienced a severe downturn due to aggressive trade practices from Japan and a crowded, non-innovative chip market in the United States.

1985: Fortune 500 Listing

In 1985, AMD was first included in the Fortune 500 list. In 1984, it was also listed in The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.

1985: Intel Releases the 80386

In 1985, Intel had released their own x386 processor, preceding AMD's release of Am386 in 1991.

1986: Introduction of AMD Am29000 (29k) processor

Beginning in 1986, AMD embraced the shift toward RISC with their own AMD Am29000 (29k) processor, which survived as an embedded processor. AMD also increased its EPROM memory market share in the late 1980s.

1986: Liberty Chip Program

In fiscal year 1986, AMD introduced the Liberty Chip program, which focused on designing and manufacturing one new chip or chipset per week for 52 weeks, to overcome the mid-1980s crisis. AMD also heavily lobbied the U.S. government to prevent predatory Japanese pricing and withdrew from the DRAM market.

1987: AMD Invokes Arbitration Against Intel

In 1987, AMD initiated arbitration proceedings against Intel, alleging a breach of their 1982 technological-exchange agreement. In response, Intel canceled the agreement altogether, escalating the legal conflict between the two companies.

1990: Intel Countersues AMD

In 1990, Intel responded to AMD's legal actions by countersuing and renegotiating AMD's rights to use derivatives of Intel's microcode for cloned processors, adding more complexity to their ongoing legal battle.

March 1991: AMD Releases the Am386 Processor

In March 1991, AMD released the Am386, its clone of the Intel 386 processor, after being compelled to develop clean-room designed versions of Intel code due to legal disputes.

1991: Introduction of Am386

In 1991, AMD introduced its 386-compatible Am386, an AMD-designed chip, allowing AMD to compete directly with Intel.

1992: AMD Wins Arbitration Against Intel

After three years of testimony, AMD won the arbitration case against Intel in 1992, but Intel disputed the decision, leading to further legal battles between the companies.

1993: Co-Manufacturing Flash Memory with Fujitsu

In 1993, AMD began co-manufacturing flash memory with Fujitsu.

1993: AMD Introduces the Am486 Family of Processors

In 1993, AMD introduced the Am486 family of processors, which gained popularity among original equipment manufacturers, leading to an exclusive agreement with Compaq.

1994: AMD Wins Legal Dispute Against Intel

In 1994, the Supreme Court of California sided with the arbitrator in the dispute between AMD and Intel, affirming AMD's victory after a prolonged legal battle.

November 1995: AMD Releases the Am5x86 Processor

In November 1995, AMD released the Am5x86, another Am486-based processor, continuing AMD's success with fast and cost-effective processors.

1995: End of Extended Cross-Licensing Agreement

In 1995, the AMD-Intel cross-licensing agreement that had been extended in 1982, came to an end.

1996: AMD Purchases NexGen

In 1996, AMD acquired NexGen to gain the rights to their Nx series of x86-compatible processors. AMD allowed the NexGen design team to rework the Nx686.

1996: AMD Launches the K5 Processor

In 1996, AMD launched its first in-house x86 processor, the K5. The name was a reference to Kryptonite, as Superman's weakness represents Intel's dominance in the market. The number "5" referenced the fifth generation of x86 processors.

1996: AMD Receives Rights to Intel Microcode

In 1996, AMD reached an agreement granting them rights to the microcode in Intel's x386 and x486 processor families. This agreement did not extend to the microcode in subsequent generations of processors.

1997: AMD Introduces the K6 Processor

In 1997, AMD introduced the K6 processor, which was based on the reworked Nx686 from NexGen. Some variants, such as the K6-III/450, surpassed Intel's Pentium II in speed.

June 23, 1999: AMD Debuts the Athlon Processor

On June 23, 1999, AMD debuted the K7 under the brand name Athlon. Due to licensing issues surrounding Intel's Slot 1 connector, the Athlon used a Slot A connector. The Duron was released as a lower-cost alternative with reduced cache, and the Sempron later replaced the Duron as a lower-cost Athlon XP.

2000: AMD's product portofolio for each market segment

By 2000, AMD had filled its product portofolio for each market segment, offering a comprehensive range of processors for various computing needs.

October 9, 2001: AMD Releases the Athlon XP

On October 9, 2001, AMD released the Athlon XP processor, marking an advancement in the Athlon line.

February 10, 2003: AMD Releases Athlon XP with 512 KB L2 Cache

On February 10, 2003, AMD released the Athlon XP with 512 KB L2 Cache, enhancing the processor's performance capabilities.

April 22, 2003: AMD Launches Opteron Processor

On April 22, 2003, AMD launched the Opteron server-oriented processor, which featured a 64-bit extension to the x86 instruction set (x86-64, AMD64, or x64), an on-chip memory controller, and HyperTransport technology.

2003: Spin-Off of Flash Memory Business

In 2003, AMD spun off its flash memory business and manufacturing into Spansion, a joint venture with Fujitsu, to divest some manufacturing and aid its overall cash flow.

April 21, 2005: AMD Releases First Dual-Core Opteron CPU

On April 21, 2005, AMD released the first dual-core Opteron, an x86-based server CPU, marking a significant advancement in server processing capabilities.

December 2005: Divestment of Spansion

In December 2005, AMD divested itself of Spansion, its flash memory business joint venture with Fujitsu, to focus on the microprocessor market.

July 24, 2006: Acquisition of ATI Technologies Announced

On July 24, 2006, AMD announced its acquisition of the Canadian 3D graphics card company ATI Technologies, paying $4.3 billion and 58 million shares of its capital stock.

October 25, 2006: Completion of ATI Technologies Acquisition

On October 25, 2006, AMD completed its acquisition of ATI Technologies.

2006: AMD Announced Fusion Initiative

Following AMD's 2006 acquisition of ATI Technologies, the Fusion initiative was announced. Fusion integrated a CPU and GPU together and was later renamed to the AMD APU (Accelerated Processing Unit).

May 2007: AMD Changes Dual-Core Desktop Product Branding

In May 2007, AMD discontinued using the string "64" in its dual-core desktop product branding, renaming it to Athlon X2, which shifted the target market towards value dual-core desktop systems.

September 2007: AMD Releases Opteron K10 and Phenom Processor

In September 2007, AMD released the first server Opteron K10 processors, followed in November by the Phenom processor for desktops. The new platform was called Spider.

July 2008: Hector Ruiz Steps Down as CEO

In July 2008, AMD's CEO Hector Ruiz stepped down in preparation for becoming chairman of GlobalFoundries in March 2009, with Dirk Meyer becoming AMD's CEO.

October 2008: GlobalFoundries Spin-Off Announced

In October 2008, AMD announced plans to spin off manufacturing operations into GlobalFoundries Inc., a joint venture with Advanced Technology Investment Co.

2008: AMD Releases Dual-Core Sempron Processors in China

In 2008, AMD began exclusively releasing dual-core Sempron processors in China, branded as the Sempron 2000 series. These processors featured lower HyperTransport speed and smaller L2 cache, completing AMD's dual-core product portfolio.

January 2009: AMD Releases Phenom II Processor Line

In January 2009, AMD released the Phenom II processor line, a refresh of the original Phenom built using the 45 nm process. The new platform was called Dragon.

March 2009: Hector Ruiz Becomes Chairman of GlobalFoundries

In March 2009, Hector Ruiz became the chairman of GlobalFoundries.

2009: GlobalFoundries spin-off

In 2009, GlobalFoundries was spun off from AMD, after which AMD outsourced its manufacturing.

April 2010: AMD Releases Phenom II Hexa-core Processor

In April 2010, AMD released the Phenom II Hexa-core (6-core) processor, codenamed "Thuban," which featured AMD's "turbo core" technology. This processor was based on the hexa-core "Istanbul" Opteron processor.

August 30, 2010: Retirement of ATI Brand Name

On August 30, 2010, AMD announced that it would retire the ATI brand name for its graphics chipsets in favor of the AMD brand name.

2010: AMD Releases Magny Cours and Lisbon Server Parts

In 2010, AMD released the Magny Cours and Lisbon server parts. The Magny Cours part featured 8 to 12 cores, while the Lisbon part had 4 to 6 cores. The Magny Cours focused on performance, and the Lisbon part focused on high performance per watt.

August 2011: Rory Read Joins AMD as CEO

In August 2011, AMD announced that former Lenovo executive Rory Read would be joining the company as CEO, replacing Meyer.

October 12, 2011: AMD Releases Bulldozer Microarchitecture

On October 12, 2011, AMD released the Bulldozer microarchitecture for server and desktop AMD FX processors. While expectations were high, benchmarks were disappointing, and the new products were sometimes slower than their predecessors.

November 2011: Layoffs Announced

In November 2011, AMD announced plans to lay off more than 10% (1,400) of its employees worldwide.

October 2012: Additional Layoffs Announced

In October 2012, AMD announced plans to lay off an additional 15% of its workforce to reduce costs in the face of declining sales revenue.

2012: AMD Releases Piledriver Microarchitecture

In 2012, the Piledriver microarchitecture was released as the successor to Bulldozer, increasing clock speeds and performance, and was featured in AMD FX, APU, and Opteron product lines.

2012: Acquisition of SeaMicro

In early 2012, AMD acquired the low-power server manufacturer SeaMicro, with the intention of developing an Arm64 server chip.

2013: AMD Releases Steamroller Microarchitecture

In 2013, AMD released the Steamroller microarchitecture, which was exclusively used in AMD's APUs and focused on greater parallelism.

July 1, 2014: AMD Reorganizes Business Groups

On July 1, 2014, AMD reorganized its business into two primary groups: Computing and Graphics (focused on desktop, notebook processors, chipsets, discrete GPUs, and professional graphics) and Enterprise, Embedded, and Semi-Custom (focused on server, embedded processors, dense servers, semi-custom SoCs, engineering services, and royalties). This reorganization marked a significant shift in AMD's strategic focus.

October 8, 2014: Lisa Su Appointed CEO

On October 8, 2014, AMD announced that Rory Read had stepped down as president and chief executive officer after three years, and Lisa Su, the chief operating officer since June, succeeded him.

October 16, 2014: AMD Announces Restructuring Plan

On October 16, 2014, AMD announced a new restructuring plan alongside its Q3 results, involving a reorganization into two business groups: Computing and Graphics; and Enterprise, Embedded, and Semi-Custom. This restructuring also included a 7% reduction of AMD's global workforce by the end of 2014.

2015: AMD Releases Excavator Microarchitecture

In 2015, AMD released the Excavator microarchitecture, replacing Piledriver and focusing on improved power efficiency, and was the last microarchitecture of the Bulldozer series.

August 2016: AMD Moves Headquarters to Santa Clara

In August 2016, AMD relocated its headquarters from Sunnyvale to a new 220,000 sq. ft. building in Santa Clara, ending its 47-year presence in Sunnyvale. This move placed AMD's headquarters across from Intel's headquarters.

April 2019: Approval for Redevelopment of 1 AMD Place

In April 2019, the Sunnyvale City Council approved the Irvine Company's plans to demolish AMD's former headquarters at 1 AMD Place and redevelop the 32-acre site into townhomes and apartments.

October 2020: AMD Announces Acquisition of Xilinx

In October 2020, AMD announced its acquisition of Xilinx, a leader in field programmable gate arrays and complex programmable logic devices (FPGAs and CPLDs), in an all-stock transaction.

February 2022: AMD Completes Acquisition of Xilinx

In February 2022, AMD completed its acquisition of Xilinx, originally announced in October 2020, in a deal valued at an estimated $50 billion, expanding AMD's capabilities in adaptive computing.

2022: Xilinx acquisition

In 2022, AMD acquired Xilinx, adding field-programmable gate array (FPGA) products to its portfolio.

2022: AMD Surpasses Intel in Market Capitalization

In 2022, AMD's market capitalization surpassed Intel's for the first time.

October 2023: AMD Acquires Nod.ai

In October 2023, AMD acquired Nod.ai, an open-source AI software provider, to strengthen its AI software ecosystem.

January 2024: AMD Discontinues Production of Xilinx CPLDs

In January 2024, AMD announced it would discontinue the production of all complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) acquired through the Xilinx acquisition.

March 2024: AMD Valuation Exceeds $300B

In March 2024, a surge in semiconductor stocks propelled AMD's valuation above $300 billion for the first time, marking a significant milestone for the company.

July 2024: AMD to Acquire Silo AI

In July 2024, AMD announced its plan to acquire Silo AI, a Finnish-based artificial intelligence startup, for $665 million in cash, in an effort to enhance its competitiveness against Nvidia in the AI chip market.