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Micron Boise

One of the largest Semiconductor manufacturers.

Micron Technology, commonly referred to as just Micron, was founded in October of 1978 and specializes in the production of semiconductor devices (and is among the world’s five largest semiconductor companies). It’s also one of the largest employers in Idaho - with over 5,000 employees in Idaho and over 34,000 worldwide.

Way back in the day, J. R. Simplot (the famous, self-made, Boise-native billionaire who got rich after becoming an agricultural supplier) decided to fund Micron and the rest is history. They became one of the major providers of computer chips for companies like Compaq and plenty of other PC makers. It also became incredibly profitable. As MacroTrends states, Micron currently has a net worth of over 37-billion dollars. As Simplot reportedly once stated, “Micron is my baby.”

Computer Chips

Way back in the day, J. R. Simplot (the famous, self-made, Boise-native billionaire who got rich after becoming an agricultural supplier) decided to fund Micron and the rest is history. They became one of the major providers of computer chips for companies like Compaq and plenty of other PC makers. It also became incredibly profitable. As MacroTrends states, Micron currently has a net worth of over 37-billion dollars. As Simplot reportedly once stated, “Micron is my baby.”

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Micron has been able to continually grow their business due to some significant risks that, luckily, paid off. When their market was starting to take a downturn, instead of playing it safe Micron decided to buy a few of their competitors for pennies on the dollar. According to this Wired article, “In 1998, for example, [they] bought Texas Instruments’ memory business for $800 million; in 2012, [they] bought Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory for $2.5 billion.” Their decision to stay active during the times when the markets were looking down has allowed them to grow to the size they are today.

Over the years, Micron has become such a powerhouse for technology that they’ve even had to deal with Chinese spies trying to steal their intellectual property.

But what is Micron working on now to help them stay so relevant?

3D Xpoint Chips

The answer to that is the very impressive 3D Xpoint chip they are building now. According to their website, the 3D Xpoint chip is “an entirely new class of nonvolatile memory that can help turn immense amounts of data into valuable information in real time. With up to 1,000 times lower latency and exponentially greater endurance than NAND, 3D XPoint technology can deliver game-changing performance for big data applications and transactional workloads. Its ability to enable high-speed, high-capacity data storage close to the processor creates new possibilities for system architects and promises to enable entirely new applications.”

Their offices are located south of Boise, right off of Federal Way - just a little ways beyond the Boise Factory Outlet Mall. And, fun fact, they’re so big that they even have a Google My Business listing for their volleyball pit. And no, we’re not joking.

Looking to find more information on Micron or other local Boise businesses? Be sure to check out Totally Boise’s blog for various interviews, galleries and more!

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