Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. is an American corporation that manufactures microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP integrated circuits.
Its products include microcontrollers (PIC, dsPIC, AVR and SAM), Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, embedded security devices, radio frequency (RF) devices, thermal, power and battery management analog devices, as well as linear, interface and wireless solutions.
Its corporate headquarters is located in Chandler, Arizona.

Microchip Technology was founded in 1987 when General Instrument spun off its microelectronics division as a wholly owned subsidiary. The newly formed company was a supplier of programmable non-volatile memory, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, card chip on board, and consumer integrated circuits. An initial public offering later in the year was canceled because of the October 1987 stock market crash. Microchip Technology became an independent company in 1989 when it was acquired by a group of venture capitalists led by Sequoia Capital. In the same year, Microchip Technology announced the release of small, inexpensive 8-bit reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microcontrollers for $2.40 apiece whereas most RISC microcontrollers were 32-bit devices selling for hundreds of dollars.

Microchip Technology offers support and resources to educators, researchers and students in an effort to increase awareness and knowledge of embedded applications. Support includes access to labs, curricula and course materials, One-on-one consultations, online resources (e.g., code examples, textbook recommendations), training at regional training centers, silicon donations, assistance finding low cost development tools, free versions of Microchip programming tools and product discounts. [Source: Wikipedia]