Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore co-founded Intel in California in 1968.
The company was originally incorporated as NM Electronics, using the initials of Noyce and Moore. It soon adopted the name Intel, a shortened form of “Integrated Electronics.” Venture capitalist Arthur Rock helped provide early financing and became an important figure in the company’s launch.
Intel initially focused on semiconductor memory and introduced the 1101, a commercially available semiconductor memory product, in 1969. Its later success came from microprocessors, including the 4004, released in 1971 and developed for Busicom’s calculator project.
Noyce and Moore had previously worked at Fairchild Semiconductor, another influential Silicon Valley company. Intel is therefore sometimes mistaken for a Fairchild creation, but it was founded independently by the two former Fairchild executives.