U.S. technology company · mega-cap · listed on Nasdaq · headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Clue 2 · The Numbers
Revenue around $54 billion a year, but a brutal stretch of competition and factory costs pushed its net income to near zero — or worse in recent years.
Clue 3 · The History
Founded in 1968 by a pair of scientists who'd already helped invent the transistor, it introduced the world's first commercial microprocessor in 1971.
Clue 4 · The Secret
It spent decades manufacturing its own chips in-house — a hugely expensive bet most rivals abandoned — and is now betting billions that outside companies will pay it to do the same for them.
Clue 5 · The Lore
Co-founder Gordon Moore wrote a 1965 paper predicting chips would double in power every couple of years — a prophecy so accurate the industry just calls it Moore's Law.
Clue 6 · The Giveaway
For 30 years, a five-note jingle ending in 'bong' played every time someone turned on a PC — because the sticker on the box said 'Intel Inside.'