Motorola developed the PowerPC processor architecture with IBM and Apple in the 1990s.
The three companies formed the AIM alliance in 1991 to develop a RISC-based processor family. PowerPC chips were used in Apple Macintosh computers beginning in 1994, when Apple moved away from Motorola 68000-series processors. IBM also used PowerPC designs in workstations, servers, and embedded systems.
Motorola’s semiconductor business had a long history in microprocessors and communications technology. The company’s 68000 family powered many earlier Macintosh computers, as well as systems such as the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. Motorola later spun off its semiconductor operations as Freescale Semiconductor in 2004.
The company is now known as Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility after a 2011 split. Motorola Solutions focuses on communications and public-safety technology, while Motorola Mobility became a mobile-device business and was later acquired by Lenovo. The PowerPC collaboration is therefore a historical Motorola fact, not a description of the modern Motorola corporate structure.