Through a series of fortuitous circumstances, a small California company, Intel, created a four-bit processor called a 4004. The year was 1971. The market quickly soared. Without this invention, new companies such as Apple or Atari could never have been born. A few Intel engineers, dazzled by their success, left the company to create their own business and manufacture their own microprocessors. Four large corporations – Intel, Motorola, Zilog and Mostek – remain at the center 
of this exclusive club where cutthroat competition is the rule.