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TIMELINE-Intel's tumultuous journey from Silicon Valley stalwart to AI straggler
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TIMELINE-Intel's tumultuous journey from Silicon Valley stalwart to AI straggler
Sep 18, 2025 8:15 PM

(Rewrites paragraph 1 to reflect new deal with Nvidia ( NVDA ), adds

latest developments)

Sept 18 (Reuters) -

Nvidia ( NVDA ) on Thursday unveiled plans to invest $5

billion in Intel ( INTC ), offering a fresh lease of life to the

crisis-hit chipmaker, which has struggled to turn itself around

after a series of missteps.

Intel ( INTC ), once the undisputed leader in chip manufacturing,

has fallen on hard times after missing the AI boom, while its

longtime rival AMD has been gaining share in its mainstay

personal computer and server semiconductor markets.

Here's a timeline of the major events that have shaped

the chipmaker:

1968 - Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore found Intel ( INTC ), helping

reshape California's Santa Clara Valley from fruit orchards into

the Silicon Valley tech hub.

1971 - Intel ( INTC ) introduces the 4004, the world's first

commercially made programmable microprocessor, with 2,300

transistors. These were among the first chips that could be

programmed to perform specific functions, unlike previous

processors that were hardwired only for a certain task - a

turning point in the history of the semiconductor industry that

laid the groundwork for the development of CPUs.

1981 - Intel's ( INTC ) 8088 microprocessor, with 29,000 transistors,

becomes the brain in the IBM Personal Computer, kicking off the

era of personal computing.

1982 - Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ), co-founded in 1969 by

a fellow Fairchild Semiconductor alum, becomes a second producer

of the Intel ( INTC ) 8086 microprocessor. This partnership would later

cause a long legal battle over AMD's rights to use Intel's ( INTC ) x86

chip architecture, which is the basis of a majority of PC and

server chips today.

1985 - Intel ( INTC ) decides to withdraw from the dynamic random access

memory (DRAM) market - its initial claim to fame - as slumping

demand prompts it to focus on microprocessors. It cuts its

workforce, and lays off thousands of workers through the end of

the decade, hurt by an industry-wide downturn brought on by

memory over-supply.

1987 - Andy Grove, famous for his motto, "only the paranoid

survive", becomes Intel's ( INTC ) third CEO and steers the company

through a massive slump in the chip market. Intel ( INTC ) solidifies its

position as a linchpin of the American semiconductor industry,

while players like AMD and National Semiconductor struggle.

1991 - Intel ( INTC ) launches its "Intel Inside" marketing campaign

for PCs with its chips, and the television commercials become a

cultural phenomenon.

1993 - Intel ( INTC ) introduces Pentium microprocessors, boasting

3.1 million transistors and running 300 times faster than the

8088.

1999 - Intel ( INTC ) and Windows maker Microsoft ( MSFT ), allies referred to

as Wintel, become the first two tech companies to be added to

the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average.

1999 - Nvidia ( NVDA ) introduces its first graphics processing units

(GPU), which during the 2000s would become an important fixture

in PCs and servers with the advent of gaming and multimedia

applications. Intel's ( INTC ) development strategy remained focused on

CPUs, Reuters reported, eventually costing it a head start in

the AI revolution of the 2020s.

2000 - Driven by the dot-com bubble, Intel's ( INTC ) stock market

value reaches a record $495 billion as it, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Cisco

Systems ( CSCO ) and Dell benefit from an explosion of computer sales. By

late 2024, Intel's ( INTC ) value would fall below $100 billion.

2007 - Apple ( AAPL ) launches the iPhone, helping kick off a mobile

phone boom that Intel ( INTC ) mostly missed. Under CEO Paul Otellini,

Intel ( INTC ) turned down a deal to make iPhone processors because it

did not stand to profit enough from the arrangement. Instead,

Apple ( AAPL ) used chips based on designs from Arm Holdings,

whose tech now dominates the mobile market.

2013 - Otellini steps down as CEO amid pressure from

investors. Former chief operating officer Brian Krzanich becomes

CEO, with a focus on diversifying the business beyond PCs to the

data center market and automotive chips through acquisitions

like Altera and Mobileye.

2014-16 - Under CEO Krzanich, Intel ( INTC ) held back on using

next-generation equipment used in the extreme ultraviolet

lithography (EUV) technique, crucial for next-generation chips,

believing it would "never work" and focusing the company's

engineers elsewhere. The fateful decision sets back Intel's ( INTC )

design and manufacturing businesses for roughly five years.

2017 - Samsung overtakes the U.S. company as the world's

largest chipmaker by revenue as prices soared in Samsung's

stronghold of the memory market. At the same time, Intel ( INTC ) cedes

its manufacturing technology lead to Taiwan's TSMC,

now the world's largest contract chip manufacturer with

customers including Apple ( AAPL ).

2018 - Krzanich steps down amid mounting manufacturing

setbacks. Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan becomes interim CEO.

The company declines an offer to invest in OpenAI later that

year; Swan does not believe generative AI will reach market in

near future. OpenAI by 2024 has a larger market valuation than

Intel ( INTC ).

2020 - Intel's ( INTC ) annual revenue peaks at $77.87 billion,

bolstered by pandemic sales of PCs. Revenue then declines as

Intel ( INTC ) struggles with increased competition from AMD and Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Nvidia ( NVDA ) overtakes Intel ( INTC ) in terms of market value, as the

company's GPUs become the key chip for generative AI technology.

2021 - Pat Gelsinger becomes CEO, winning praise from

investors who want a turnaround after manufacturing setbacks and

deepening market share losses. He focuses on transforming Intel ( INTC )

into a producer of chips for other "fabless" firms, including

his "five nodes in four years" plan that would cost billions and

sap Intel's ( INTC ) cash flow and margins. Intel ( INTC ) announces a $20 billion

planned investment for two manufacturing facilities in Arizona.

2022 - Intel's ( INTC ) market value sinks below AMD's as the smaller

chipmaker eats away at Intel's ( INTC ) share of the server CPU and PC

chip market and becomes the most formidable challenger to

Nvidia ( NVDA ). Semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan joins Intel's ( INTC ) board.

2024 - Intel ( INTC ) unveils a plan to invest $100 billion across

four U.S. states to build and expand factories, after securing

federal grants and loans aimed at bolstering U.S. chip

manufacturing. It cuts 17,500 jobs, suspends dividend and

embarks on a turnaround of its money-losing manufacturing

business.

2024 - Tan exits Intel ( INTC ) board over the company's bloated

workforce, risk-averse culture and lagging artificial

intelligence strategy, according to Reuters' sources.

2024 - Qualcomm has explored acquiring pieces of Intel ( INTC ) chip

design business, sources tell Reuters. Intel ( INTC ) later considers

spinning out its manufacturing division.

2024 - Intel's ( INTC ) CEO Pat Gelsinger resigns before completing

his turnaround strategy.

March 12, 2025 - Intel ( INTC ) appoints chip industry veteran Lip-Bu

Tan as its CEO, who says he aims to restore the company's

"world-class status."

April 14, 2025 - Intel ( INTC ) reveals plans to sell 51% of Altera

to private equity firm Silver Lake, valuing the unit at $8.75

billion, well below the nearly $17 billion Intel ( INTC ) paid in 2015.

July 24, 2025 - Tan vows to make Intel's ( INTC ) operations lean

and build factory capacity only when there's demand to match it.

The company said it would further reduce headcount to 75,000 by

the end of the year, down 22% from the end of 2024.

August 7, 2025 - U.S. President Donald Trump demands

immediate resignation of Tan, calling him "highly conflicted"

due to his ties to Chinese firms.

August 19, 2025 - Intel ( INTC ) gets $2 billion capital

injection from SoftBank Group.

August 22, 2025 - The United States government takes

about 10% stake in Intel ( INTC ) for $8.9 billion by converting

government grants into an equity share.

September 18, 2025 - Nvidia ( NVDA ) unveils plans to

invest $5 billion in Intel's ( INTC ) common stock and work with the

struggling chipmaker to develop PC and data center chips. The

stake makes Nvidia ( NVDA ) one of Intel's ( INTC ) largest shareholders, giving

it roughly 4% or more of the company after new shares are issued

to complete the deal.

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