That year AMD also greatly increased the sales volume of its linear integrated circuits, and by year-end the company's total annual sales reached US$4.6 million. In 1971, AMD entered the RAM chip market, beginning with the Am3101, a 64-bit bipolar RAM. Its best-selling product in 1971 was the Am2505, the fastest multiplier available. Also in 1970, AMD produced its first proprietary product, the Am2501 logic counter, which was highly successful.
In November 1969, the company manufactured its first product: the Am9300, a 4-bit MSI shift register, which began selling in 1970. The company guaranteed quality control to United States Military Standard, an advantage in the early computer industry since unreliability in microchips was a distinct problem that customers – including computer manufacturers, the telecommunications industry, and instrument manufacturers – wanted to avoid. AMD first focused on producing logic chips. To immediately secure a customer base, AMD initially became a second source supplier of microchips designed by Fairchild and National Semiconductor. In September 1969, AMD moved from its temporary location in Santa Clara to Sunnyvale, California.
Robert Noyce, who had developed the first silicon integrated circuit at Fairchild in 1959, had left Fairchild together with Gordon Moore and founded the semiconductor company Intel in July 1968. He later decided to leave to start his own semiconductor company. Sanders, an electrical engineer who was the director of marketing at Fairchild, had, like many Fairchild executives, grown frustrated with the increasing lack of support, opportunity, and flexibility within the company.