Before there were self driving cars or touchscreen devices, there was the humble microchip. Since the 1960s, Silicon Valley has been a gravitational center for the world’s semiconductor manufacturers, and the region has built its name on the silicon and integrated circuit technology that makes the rest of the tech world possible.
Integrated circuit chips have come a long way since the early days of the computer. Today, microchip hardware is the operational foundation of nearly every tech reliant industry, and semiconductor technology still powers everything from the healthcare sector to popular gaming platforms. Startups today are envisioning tech frontiers never before imagined, but no matter what the future brings, these 13 Silicon Valley microchip companies will continue to work behind the scenes to make it all possible.
Top Silicon Valley Microchip Companies
- Intel Corporation
- Applied Materials
- AMD
- Celera
- Infineon
- GCT Semiconductor
Founded: 1968
Location: Santa Clara
What they do: Intel Corporation is one of the biggest names in hardware manufacturing, building a broad range of semiconductor products from system processors and devices to power solutions and wireless connectors. They offer a variety of chipset options for mobile, desktop and server use, all built with extended battery life and responsive capabilities. Intel Corporation also develops embedded chipsets specifically designed with security features and optimized data management for enterprise use.
Founded: 1967
Location: Santa Clara
What they do: Applied Materials is an engineering solutions company that has become a leading developer of chip and display technology across the globe. Applied Materials manufactures hardware with atomic level precision designed for use on an industrial scale, with the goal of helping businesses reach objectives and grow in their markets at a higher speed. Their technologies are developed with atomic precision to ensure their customer can build products that process faster, have higher resolution displays and are capable of more efficient memory storage.
Founded: 1994
Location: San Jose
What they do: Alien Technologies develops and manufactures RFID transceiver chips for use by companies to manage inventory and track transportation of items. The company provides a variety of technologies and other services to support professional growth, from hardware like compliant RFID transceiver chips and intelligent readers to development services like best practices training and educational support. They work with enterprises across the globe in key industries like retail, transportation, life sciences and more.
Founded: 1969
Location: Santa Clara
What they do: Founded during the early days of the Silicon Valley semiconductor boom, AMD is now a global team of over 10,000 tech professionals who develop products and hardware for some of the world's leading companies. The company manufactures computing hardware and visualization products to power businesses in gaming and VR.
Founded: 2016
Location: Campbell
What they do: Atmosic is a fabless semiconductor company that builds microchips and other hardware designed to reduce battery dependence and increase the battery life of devices. The company plans to continue to develop technology that will improve the rate and process of deploying IoT for companies in a variety of industries, from healthcare to the automotive sector.
Founded: 2015
Location: San Mateo
What they do: SiFive simplifies the process of developing new hardware by creating a platform for semiconductor manufacturers that is powered by open source software automation. Built to be used even by those new to silicon, their accessible online core and chip designing platform enables high speed development and testing of chips and core IP.
Founded: 1995
Location: Santa Clara
What they do: Originally founded to tackle the problems of the digital storage industry, Marvell continues to utilize semiconductor and microchip technology to work toward finding solutions for security, networking and processing issues. From developing ethernet transceivers for the automotive industry, to increasing bandwidth for enterprise access point platforms, Marvell collaborates with clients from all sectors to achieve their goals through microchip technology.
Founded: 1995
Location: Santa Clara
What they do: II-VI is a global semiconductor company that develops materials and microchip solutions to support the operations of international companies. The organization builds engineered materials and optical systems such as LiDAR and 3D sensors to be used in major industries like communications, life sciences, automobiles and consumer electronics. II-VI seeks to develop microchip technology tailored to their clients' needs by integrating advanced software into their products.
Founded: 2006
Location: San Jose
What they do: Presto Engineering reduces the time-to-market for microchip products through delivering ASIC designs for IoT and 5G device manufacturers. Their turn-key and engineering solutions help chip makers simplify their design production, reduce their time-to-market and lower their overhead costs.
Founded: 2018
Location: San Jose
What they do: Made up of a team of tech R&D professionals, Celera seeks to solve the problem of automating analog and mixed-signal applications through a software-based, AI integrated platform. Celera provides a range of industry-grade solutions, including design assistance, IP management, and full custom IC development. The company seeks to renovate the R&D process, delivering chip layouts at a rate 100x faster than legacy flows.
Founded: 1983
Location: San Jose
What they do: SK hynix is an international microchip manufacturer with a main focus on producing DRAM, NAND, SSD and CMOS image sensors. The microchip technologies they produce can be used in any device from PC laptops to smart cars, and are built to tackle common device issues such as battery usage and processing speed. As one of the world's leading silicon manufacturers, SK hynix has offices spread across Europe and Asia, in addition to their San Jose location.
Founded: 1999
Location: Milpitas
What they do: Infineon is a microchip manufacturer with a focus on developing semiconductor technologies that enable green and energy efficient technology. The company builds chipsets to address a range of client needs, and are capable of doing everything from reducing automotive energy consumption to enabling speech recognition in mobile devices. Infineon's vision is to build a world where social issues, climate change and urbanization can all be addressed through microelectronics.
Founded: 1998
Location: San Jose
What they do: GCT Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company that is a leader globally in the development of microchips and integrated circuit solutions for enterprises in the communications sector. Their chip products are built to run for long periods of time on small batteries, and their system-on mobile chip products are built with digital signal processing functions so that clients can process their data at high speeds for a low cost.
