AMD's First CPU: The Reverse-Engineered Am9080 That Launched the Company 50 Years Ago

AMD's Am9080 had something of a shady origin, as it was a reverse-engineered and cloned Intel 8080.

Due to the importance of second-sourcing among organizations that would end up buying boatloads of 8080 microprocessors (e.g., the military), Intel and AMD eventually reached a licensing agreement.

In 1975, AMD could make these processors for 50 cents and sell them for $700, providing a great financial springboard to establish the company in PC CPU making.

The chip which paved the way for AMD's illustrious future, eventually creating some of the best CPUs we've ever tested, entered mass production 50 years ago.