COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 3674

Semiconductors and Related Devices

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

29companies1862–1987founding years29still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedBaldwin Piano & Organ Company
1862
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedFedders Corp.
1913
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedGould Electronics, Inc.
1928
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedRichardson Electronics, Ltd.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedAnam GroupFoundedBurr-Brown Corporation
1956
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedKyocera Corporation
1959
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAnalog Devices, Inc.
1965
FoundedAnthem Electronics, Inc.
1968
FoundedExar Corp.FoundedMitel Corporation
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedVLSI Technology, Inc.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedLSI Logic Corporation
1980
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedLattice Semiconductor Corp.FoundedMaxim Integrated Products, Inc.
1983
FoundedDallas Semiconductor Corp.FoundedESS Technology, Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedCHIPS and Technologies, Inc.
1985
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Dynatech Corporation →
Active
Dynatech Corporation is one of the world's leading suppliers of products that support voice, video, and data…
Baldwin Piano & Organ Company →
Active · founded 1862 · email:bpao.com
At first glance Baldwin Piano & Organ Company would appear to be a rather staid, traditional manufacturer of musical…
Fedders Corp. →
Active · founded 1913
Fedders Corp.
Harris Corporation →
Active · founded 1926
The origin of the Harris Corporation, a leading American electronics company, is actually to be found in the printing…
Gould Electronics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1928
Gould Electronics, Inc., is a designer and manufacturer of materials and components for use in the electrical and…
Richardson Electronics, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1947
Richardson Electronics, Ltd., is one of the fastest growing, highly specialized international distributors of power…
Avnet Inc. →
Active · founded 1955
Avnet Inc.
Anam Group →
Active · founded 1956
With an estimated one-third of the global semiconductor assembly market, the Anam Group ranks among South Korea's…
Burr-Brown Corporation →
Active · founded 1956
Burr-Brown Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells a broad line of microelectronic components, especially…
Watkins-Johnson Company →
Active · founded 1957
A leading high-technology competitor, Watkins-Johnson Company is a producer of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment…
Kyocera Corporation →
Active · founded 1959 · Japan
Kyocera Corporation, founded in 1959, was one of the first companies to produce fine ceramic components.
Analog Devices, Inc. →
Active · founded 1965
Analog Devices, Inc.
Schneider S.A. →
Active · founded 1966 · France
After a dizzying series of complicated restructurings, acquisitions, and divestments that began in 1980 when the…
Anthem Electronics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Anthem Electronics, Inc.
International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation →
Active · founded 1968
Once known primarily as a telecommunications company, the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT) has…
Exar Corp. →
Active · founded 1971
Exar Corp.
Mitel Corporation →
Active · founded 1971 · Canada
Mitel Corporation is an international supplier of telecommunications products and solutions and a pioneer in…
Standard Microsystems Corporation →
Active · founded 1971
Since being incorporated in 1971, Standard Microsystems Corporation has evolved from a semiconductor supplier to a…
VLSI Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1979
VLSI Technology, Inc.
LSI Logic Corporation →
Active · founded 1980
A leading competitor in the customized semiconductor market, LSI Logic Corporation represents a defining force in a…
Linear Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Linear Technology, Inc.
Lattice Semiconductor Corp. →
Active · founded 1983
Lattice Semiconductor Corp.
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., is a leading developer, manufacturer, and seller of linear as well as mixed (linear…
Atmel Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
One of the fastest growing semiconductor companies in the United States, Atmel Corporation designs, develops, and…
Dallas Semiconductor Corp. →
Active · founded 1984
Dallas Semiconductor Corp.
ESS Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
ESS Technology, Inc.
Xilinx, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Xilinx, Inc.
CHIPS and Technologies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1985
Founded in 1985, CHIPS and Technologies, Inc., supplies advanced semiconductor devices to the worldwide personal…
Oak Technology, Inc. →
Active · founded 1987
Born in Xian, China, at the height of World War II, Oak Technology, Inc.
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