Happy Birthday AMD: 40 today

gallery

They say life begins at 40, and no one will hope that’s true more than the folks at AMD.

As the processor company enters its fifth decade, the company has launched a dedicated website to celebrate its longevity. Here, the most enthusiastic AMD fans can enter both a video and a photo contest to win AMD flavoured prizes.

Here’s our (somewhat abridged) timeline of the most significant events in AMD history.

Timeline

1969

AMD is setup in 1969, by Jerry Sanders and seven co-founders in Sunnyvale, California.

1970

AMD introduces its first proprietary device: the Am2501 logic counter.

1979

Production begins in new AMD Austin manufacturing facility.

1985

AMD is listed in Fortune 500 for the first time.

1991

AMD's Am386 microprocessor family debuts.

1993

AMD Am486 microprocessor family debuts.

1995

AMD introduces AMD-K5 microprocessor, which is a socket-compatible x86 microprocessor.

1997

AMD introduces the AMD-K6 microprocessor.

1999

AMD Athlon is introduced as storms to a lead over Intel’s Pentium III.

2000

AMD break the 1GHz barrier back when clock speed, really, really mattered.

2004

AMD demonstrates world's first x86 dual-core processor.

2005

2005 was clearly a big year for the company. It introduced Turion 64 for notebooks and Athlon 64 X2 dual-cores for desktops. 1-8P x86 processors for servers and workstations also made an appearance.

In the same year, AMD also files antitrust litigation against Intel for abusing its monopoly and it opens Fab 36 in Dresden, Germany.

2006

AMD acquires ATI graphics company and Dell announces it will offer AMD based systems for the first time.

2008

Dirk Meyer succeeds Hector Ruiz as chief executive of AMD.

2009

Globalfoundries, a semiconductor manufacturing company, is formed by a joint venture between AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).

Email to a friend

Print this page