# MicroUnity
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/MicroUnity
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/MicroUnity.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroUnity
> Source revision: 1356935074
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox company
|name= MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc.
|logo=
|type=
|founded=1988
|fate=
|defunct=
|hq_location_city= [Los Altos, California](/source/Los_Altos%2C_California)
|hq_location_country=USA
|key_people=John Moussouris
|industry=[Computer hardware](/source/Computer_hardware) and [software](/source/software)
|products=
|revenue=
|operating_income=
|net_income=
|num_employees=
|website= {{dead link|date=September 2019}}[http://www.microunity.com/index.html www.microunity.com]
}}
'''MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc.''' was a private company located in [Los Altos, California](/source/Los_Altos%2C_California) and an early developer of broadband microprocessor technologies licensed widely across digital media industries. John Moussouris was the CEO and Chairman for MicroUnity. In the 1990s the company had been developing what was described as a supercomputer-on-a-chip, designed to enable appliances to process and transmit videos, graphics, and audio.[{{Cite news|last=Helm |first=Leslie |date=1996-04-15 |title=John Moussouris has created a multimedia chip that could change the face of communications. Now he hopes the world will . . . : Follow His MUSE |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-15-fi-58836-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}]
==About==
MicroUnity was founded in 1988 by [John Moussouris](/source/John_Moussouris), a physicist trained at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) and as a [Rhodes Scholar](/source/Rhodes_Scholar) at Oxford University who had co-founded [MIPS](/source/MIPS_Technologies) Computer Systems.[{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/technology/20micro.html?ei=5088&en=807c9200386edc49&ex=1287460800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1129817651-n+ShgGbjg0flxAD8txrwFQ&_r=0 |title=Intel Settlement Revives a Fading Chip Designer | work=New York Times|date= 2005-10-20 | accessdate= 2014-07-01 }}][{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=6114524&privcapId=1025343 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140706233958/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=6114524&privcapId=1025343 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2014 |title=John Moussouris | publisher=Bloomberg Businessweek| accessdate= 2014-07-01}}][{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-15-fi-58836-story.html |title=John Moussouris has created a multimedia chip that could change the face of communications. Now he hopes the world will . . . : Follow His MUSE | work=Los Angeles Times|date= 1996-04-17 | access-date= 2014-07-01}}] The Chief Architect was Craig Hansen, who used to be Chief Architect at MIPS and [NeXT](/source/NeXT).[{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/chip-start-ups-big-payoff-comes-in-at-last/ |title=Chip Start-ups Big Payoff comes in at Last| work=New York Times|date= 2005-10-20 | access-date= 2014-07-01}}] In the early 1990s, MicroUnity was backed by over $100 million from companies like [Hewlett-Packard](/source/Hewlett-Packard), [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft), [Motorola](/source/Motorola), and telecommunications leaders like [Time Warner](/source/Time_Warner) and [John Malone](/source/John_Malone) at [Tele-Communications Inc.](/source/Tele-Communications_Inc.)[{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/23/business/business-technology-a-maverick-enters-chip-making.html?src=pm |title=A Maverick Enters Chip Making | work=New York Times| date= 1994-02-23 | accessdate= 2014-07-02}}]
=== Early media processing technology ===
The company's main focus was a programmable [media processor](/source/media_processor) chip and associated software aimed at [set-top boxes](/source/set-top_boxes) and other systems.[{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/10/business/chip-maker-introduces-a-chip-for-super-use-and-for-modems.html |title= Chip Maker Introduces a Chip for Super Use and for Modems | work=New York Times|date= 1995-10-10 | accessdate= 2014-07-02}}]
MicroUnity kept its product development secret until 1995.[{{cite conference |title= MicroUnity's Mediaprocessor Architecture |author= Hansen, C.|date= February 25–28, 1996 |conference= CompCon 1996 Technologies for the Digital Superhighway |publisher=IEEE Conference Publications |pages= 34–41}}][{{cite conference |title=Broadband algorithms with the MicroUnity Mediaprocessor |author1=Abbott, C. |author2=Massalin, H. |author3=Peterson, K. |author4=Karzes, T. |author5=Yamano, L. |author6=Kellogg, G. |date= February 25–28, 1996 |conference= CompCon 1996 Technologies for the Digital Superhighway |publisher=IEEE Conference Publications |pages= 349–354}}] of its media processor hardware and software designs. The technology processed media data of various types and width in a 128-bit data path in parallel.[{{cite book | title=Programmable Digital Signal Processors | pages=217–219 |editor=Yu Hen Hu |publisher=Marcel Dekker Inc. }}]
=== Manufacturing innovations ===
MicroUnity developed its first designs in [BiCMOS](/source/BiCMOS) at a time when Intel [Pentium Pro](/source/Pentium_Pro) and [Sun Microsystems](/source/Sun_Microsystems) [SPARC](/source/SPARC) were designed in BiCMOS.[{{cite journal | last=Slater |first=Michael | title=Intel Boosts Pentium Pro to 200 MHz | journal=Microprocessor Report | date=November 13, 1995}}] Company patents describe technologies intended for integration of analog media interfaces with digital circuits.[{{cite patent |country = US |number=5112761|title= BroadMX C/C++ Functions |pubdate= September 2009}}]
=== MicroUnity patent infringement ===
{{Out of date|section|date=March 2025|reason=needs 2010 lawsuit outcome}}
In 2010, MicroUnity filed suit with 22 cellphone companies including some chip, system, and service providers on 15 of its patents[{{Cite web |last=Merritt |first=Rick |date=17 March 2020 |title=MicroUnity sues mobile giants for patent infringement |url=https://www.eetimes.com/microunity-sues-mobile-giants-for-patent-infringement/}}] on devices that ''"include TI's OMAP-3 and -4 processors, Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, the Apple iPhone 3GS, Google Nexus One, Motorola Droid, Nokia N900 and Palm Pre handsets..."