Bipolar Integrated Technology
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Fate | Acquired by PMC-Sierra in September 1996 |
| Headquarters | Beaverton, Oregon , United States |
| Products | Floating-point co-processor chipset, B5000 SPARC ECL microprocessor, R6000 MIPS ECL microprocessor, ATM equipment, Ethernet switches |
Bipolar Integrated Technology, Inc. (known as BIT and later as Bit, Inc.) was a privately owned semiconductor firm located in Beaverton, Oregon, focusing on products utilizing emitter-coupled logic (ECL) technology. Established in 1983 by former engineers from Floating Point Systems, Intel, and Tektronix, BIT operated a manufacturing plant spanning 46,000 square feet at the Oregon Graduate Center. Within three years, the company secured $36 million in initial funding.
BIT’s first offering was a floating-point co-processor chipset. The company subsequently created the B5000 SPARC ECL microprocessor, which was not produced by Sun Microsystems but found use within Floating Point Systems. Additionally, BIT developed the R6000 MIPS ECL microprocessor, which saw production in a MIPS minicomputer. Early production yields for the R6000 were low, leading to supply shortages for MIPS Computer Systems and contributing to their initial quarterly financial loss in 1990. In June 1991, BIT and MIPS reached an agreement permitting BIT to sell the R6000 openly, terminating their prior exclusivity deal.
During Fred Hanson’s tenure as president, BIT recorded its first profitable year in 1991, achieving peak revenues of $20 million. However, by 1992, revenues declined to approximately $10 million following the loss of key clients such as MIPS, Floating Point, and Control Data Corporation. In response, BIT transitioned into the telecommunications sector by developing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) equipment and Ethernet switches. In September 1996, these communications product lines led to the acquisition of BIT by PMC-Sierra.