Texas Instruments : The Oil Company That Accidentally Built the Modern World

Texas Instruments started as an oil-survey company listening for echoes underground — and ended up inventing the microchip inside every phone, car, and satellite on Earth. This is the true story of how a Dallas geophysics firm accidentally built the electronics industry: a physicist who pulled silicon transistors out of his pocket in front of a skeptical crowd, an engineer who invented the integrated circuit because he wasn't allowed to take vacation, a toy that taught a chip to talk — and a $330 million loss that nearly destroyed the entire company. 🔍 In this video: 00:00 - The physicist who silenced a room full of skeptics 00:00 - A company built to listen for oil underground 00:00 - The crystal physicist who grew silicon in Texas 00:00 - The radio in every teenager's pocket 00:00 - The engineer who invented the microchip on forced vacation 00:00 - From missiles to the first calculator 00:00 - The toy that taught a chip to talk (Speak & Spell) 00:00 - The price war that almost bankrupted Texas Instruments 00:00 - How TI quietly became a $280 billion company If you ever owned a TI calculator, a Speak & Spell, or a TI-99/4A — tell us in the comments which model you had. #TexasInstruments #Microchip #TechHistory #SiliconValley #JackKilby --- 🔔 Subscribe for more deep-dive tech company documentaries every week.