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MIPS Technologies is renowned for its pioneering contributions to processor architecture, originating from Stanford University research in the early 1980s. The company was founded in 1984 by a group of Stanford researchers, including John L. Hennessy, who later became a prominent figure in computer architecture and served as the President of Stanford University. The architecture they developed, known as MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages), was one of the first RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) designs, emphasizing simplicity and efficiency in instruction execution.
Throughout the late 1980s, MIPS gained significant industry attention, securing design wins with major companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Silicon Graphics (SGI). Silicon Graphics, in particular, adopted MIPS architecture for its high-performance workstations, which contributed to the company's reputation in the graphics and visualization markets. The company's designs were characterized by their high performance and scalability, making them suitable for a range of applications from embedded systems to workstations.
In 1992, SGI acquired MIPS for $333 million, aiming to secure a reliable supply of microprocessors for its high-end graphics systems. During SGI's ownership, MIPS introduced several influential processors, including the R8000 in 1994, the R10000 in 1996, and the R12000 in 1997. These processors were notable for their advanced features and performance improvements, supporting SGI's ambitions in high-performance computing.
Following SGI's strategic shift to other architectures in 1998, MIPS was spun off as an independent company. It held its initial public offering (IPO) in December 1989, raising approximately $16.3 million. Over the years, MIPS licensed its architecture to numerous companies, with more than 125 licensees shipping over 500 million processors annually. Its architectures, MIPS32 and MIPS64, have been widely used in digital home devices, networking equipment, and embedded systems.
The company experienced various ownership changes, including acquisitions by Imagination Technologies in 2013, Tallwood Venture Capital in 2017, and Wave Computing in 2018. Despite financial challenges and restructuring, MIPS continued to innovate, notably previewing its first RISC-V CPU IP cores in 2022, such as the eVocore P8700 and I8500, supporting multi-threading, hardware virtualization, and functional safety.
MIPS has contributed significantly to the development of processor cores, with families like Warrior, M-class, I-class, and P-class, each tailored for specific performance and application needs. Its processor cores have been embedded in a variety of products, including Blu-ray players, digital TVs, set-top boxes, and networking equipment. Notable licensees include Broadcom, Cavium Networks, MediaTek, and Mobileye, the latter adopting MIPS architecture for autonomous driving systems.
The architecture has broad support across Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and NetBSD, and was also supported by Android for embedded applications until support was dropped in 2018. MIPS processors have been integral to the development of embedded systems, real-time operating systems, and multimedia devices, reflecting its longstanding influence in the semiconductor and computing industries.
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A MIPS Technologies é uma empresa de design de semicondutores sem fábrica, fundada em 1984 por pesquisadores da Stanford University, incluindo John L. Hennessy, que posteriormente se tornou presidente da Universidade de Stanford e um renomado especialista em arquitetura de computadores. A arquitetura MIPS, que significa "Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages", foi uma das pioneiras no conceito RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing), revolucionando o desenvolvimento de processadores de alta performance.
Durante os anos 1980, a empresa gerou grande interesse ao conseguir contratos com empresas como Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) e Silicon Graphics (SGI), que adotaram a arquitetura MIPS em seus produtos. Em 1989, a MIPS realizou sua primeira oferta pública inicial (IPO), marcando sua entrada no mercado de capitais. Nos anos seguintes, a empresa lançou microprocessadores como R2000 e R3000, consolidando sua posição no setor de microprocessadores de alta velocidade.
Em 1992, a SGI adquiriu a MIPS por US$ 333 milhões, integrando seus processadores em suas estações de trabalho e servidores, e lançou modelos como R8000 e R10000. No entanto, após a migração da SGI para a arquitetura Itanium em 1998, a MIPS foi desmembrada como uma entidade de propriedade intelectual, licenciando sua arquitetura para diversos fabricantes.
Ao longo dos anos 2000, a MIPS enfrentou desafios financeiros, incluindo uma redução significativa de sua força de trabalho em 2008. Em 2013, foi adquirida pela Imagination Technologies, conhecida por sua linha de processadores gráficos PowerVR. Posteriormente, em 2017, a empresa foi vendida para Tallwood Venture Capital, e em 2018, adquirida pela Wave Computing, que declarou falência em 2020, mas ressurgiu em 2021 com foco na arquitetura RISC-V.
Recentemente, a MIPS anunciou a transição para a arquitetura RISC-V, apresentando seus primeiros núcleos de CPU IP baseados nesta arquitetura, como o eVocore P8700 e I8500, em 2022. A arquitetura MIPS foi amplamente licenciada, com mais de 125 licenciatários que produzem mais de 500 milhões de processadores por ano, utilizados em eletrônicos de consumo, dispositivos de rede, automotivos e aplicações embarcadas.
A arquitetura MIPS é conhecida por sua alta performance em aplicações de entretenimento doméstico, redes e comunicações, além de suportar sistemas operacionais como Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD e Android. Seus núcleos de processador são divididos em famílias como Warrior, M-class, I-class, P-class e Aptiv, cada uma voltada para diferentes segmentos de mercado, incluindo microcontroladores, dispositivos móveis, redes e sistemas embarcados.