NEC Corporation, founded in 1899, is a pioneering Japanese multinational information technology and electronics company, historically renowned as a major semiconductor manufacturer. While it has since restructured its semiconductor business, NEC was a dominant force in the development and production of advanced integrated circuits, microprocessors, and memory devices for decades. The company was instrumental in driving innovation in the computing and telecommunications industries, producing some of Japan's first mainframe computers and sophisticated communication chips. Though its semiconductor operations were eventually merged into new entities like Renesas Technology, NEC's legacy in shaping the global semiconductor landscape, particularly in the areas of ASIC and DRAM technology, remains significant.