PIC (usually pronounced as "pick") is a family of microcontrollers made by Microchip Technology, derived from the PIC1650[1][2][3] originally developed by General Instrument's Microelectronics Division. The name PIC initially referred to Peripheral Interface Controller,[4] and is currently expanded as Programmable Intelligent Computer.[5] The first parts of the family were available in 1976; by 2013 the company had shipped more than twelve billion individual parts, used in a wide variety of embedded systems.