Texas Instruments' TMS9900, launched in 1976, was one of the first ever single-chip 16-bit processors.

It was designed as an implementation of TI's own TI-990 minicomputer, however it was built into a 64-pin DIP format - unlike the prevailing 40-pin layout popular with many other CPUs of the day, like the 6502 or the Z80 - which made it more expensive to build around.

As such, its only real use was in TI's own home computer - the TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A - which, although never profitable, still sold nearly three million units over its lifetime.