MITS made the Altair 8800, the commercially successful microcomputer kit introduced in 1975.
MITS, short for Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, was founded by Ed Roberts and Forrest Mims in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Altair 8800 appeared on the cover of Popular Electronics in January 1975 and was sold as a kit based on Intel’s 8080 microprocessor.
The machine became a landmark in hobbyist computing. Buyers assembled it themselves and could expand it with additional boards. Paul Allen and Bill Gates wrote a version of BASIC for the Altair, leading to the formation of the company that became Microsoft.
The Altair was not a complete modern personal computer with a monitor and keyboard. It used front-panel switches and lights in its basic configuration. Its importance was cultural and commercial: it helped transform microprocessors from specialist components into the basis of a growing personal-computer movement.