Microsystems International

Microsystems International Limited (MIL) was an early (1971) attempt to create a merchant semiconductor house by Nortel Networks (then Northern Electric). Electronic manufacturers were at that time forced to create custom integrated circuits due to the lack of industry standard ICs. MIL was an attempt to create a merchant company that could supply such standard devices as well as custom devices for Northern Electric products. It failed in the marketplace against other attempts to do the same thing (notably Texas Instruments, Intel and Monsanto). It was folded into Nortel's research arm Bell-Northern Research in 1974.

MIL's most lasting contribution is that it was the meeting place for the entrepreneurs Terry Matthews and Michael Cowpland. The pair left the company to found much of the high tech industry in Ottawa, Canada. Cowpland's boss at MIL cautioned him against leaving the security of a large company just a few months before MIL was wound up.