Commodore VIC-20 MOS Technology 6502 CPU Manufacturer

The Commodore VIC-20 is a legendary home computer powered by the iconic 6502 microprocessor. This article explores the origins of this central processing unit, identifying the specific company responsible for its production and detailing the corporate relationship between MOS Technology and Commodore International during the early 1980s. Readers will gain a clear understanding of the hardware lineage that defined a generation of budget-friendly computing.

The central processing unit found inside the Commodore VIC-20 is the MOS Technology 6502, often specifically the 6502A variant running at 1.1 MHz. The company that manufactured this CPU was MOS Technology, Inc. Although the chip bears the MOS Technology name, the corporate structure behind its production is significant to the history of the VIC-20. MOS Technology was originally an independent semiconductor company founded in 1974, famous for creating the affordable 6502 chip that challenged industry giants like Motorola and Intel.

In 1976, Commodore International acquired MOS Technology to secure a steady supply of chips for their calculators and future computers. By the time the VIC-20 was released in 1980, MOS Technology operated as a subsidiary of Commodore. Therefore, while the silicon was fabricated and branded under the MOS Technology name, the overarching manufacturing entity was Commodore Business Machines. This vertical integration allowed Commodore to keep costs low, which was a key factor in the VIC-20 becoming the first computer to sell one million units.

The branding on the CPU itself typically reads “MOS Technology” along with the model number and production date code. This labeling persists even though Commodore owned the facility. For collectors and historians, identifying the manufacturer requires recognizing that MOS Technology and Commodore were effectively the same entity during the VIC-20’s production run. The legacy of this manufacturing partnership remains a cornerstone of early personal computer history, highlighting how hardware ownership influenced the pricing and availability of home computing systems.